Zyprexa News

Eli Lilly Memo Reveals Inconsistency In Study Data

- Dec 21, 2006

Drug maker Eli Lilly deceived doctors and patients for at least one year by failing to reveal the real risks of its popular schizophrenia drug Zyprexa. The data received by doctors showed less of a blood-sugar risk associated with the drug than was documented in an internal company memo.

The memo, which was sent to top Lilly scientists and dated February 2000, stated that patients taking Zyprexa were 3.5 times more likely to suffer from hyperglycemia – or high blood sugar – than those who were given a placebo.

Another internal document showed that 16 percent of patient from 70 clinical trials taking Zyprexa gained more than 66 pounds. However, Lilly failed to make this data public, instead opting to highlight data from a smaller study that showed a 22-pound weight gain in about 30 percent of patients.

Hyperglycemia and weight gain are both risk factors for diabetes. Lilly has consistently denied a link between the condition and the drug.

Regulatory agencies and physicians were beginning to question whether or not Zyprexa caused high blood sugar or diabetes at about the same time the memo dated February 2002 was being circulated in the company.

Revealing these risks could have jeopardized the sales prospects of Zyprexa. When Lilly discussed the results of its clinical trials with doctors, it provided different information than what was found in the company’s internal analysis.

Lilly specifically told doctors that only 3.1 percent – as opposed to the actual 3.6 percent – of patients taking Zyprexa developed high blood sugar. Comparatively, the company said that 2.5 percent of those who received a placed developed hyperglycemia when the actual data was 1.05 percent.

This comparison led doctors to believe that the risk associated with Zyprexa – 3.1 percent – was only marginally higher than with placebo – 2.5 percent.

The drug maker is currently targeted in hundreds of Zyprexa lawsuits, alleging that the medication caused users to develop diabetes and other illnesses.

Injured by Zyprexa? Please contact us today for a FREE case evaluation with an experienced attorney who can determine your eligibility to recover compensation for your losses through a Zyprexa lawsuit.

Read More Zyprexa News....