Drug Maker May Enter Record Settlement With Government

Eli Lilly, the drug company, according to a report in the New York times, is expected to agree as soon as Thursday to pay $1.4 billion to settle criminal and civil charges that it illegally marketed its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa for unauthorized use in patients particularly vulnerable to its risky side effects.
The company has been charged with scheming to concvince doctors to prescribe Zyprexa for patients, children and older persons, for whom the drug was not federally approved. Studies have shown that the drug poses risks when used by these two groups.
According to reports, Lilly convinced physicians to use Zyprexa to sedate unruly nursing home patients solely to reduce time needed to devote to them. Lilly is also accused of marketing the drug to pediatricians and other doctors to treat disruptive children even though the medicine’s tendency to cause severe weight gain and metabolic disorders is particularly pronounced in children.
In the United States, most of Zyprexa’s sales are paid for by government programs because so many of those taking Zyprexa are indigent or disabled. Zyprexa had sales of $4.8 billion in 2007, making it the biggest seller by far for Lilly, whose revenue that year was $18.6 billion.