Kentucky settles with Eli Lilly over Zyprexa marketing

-BusinessFirst Louisville

06/18/2009 - Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has settled with drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. over allegations of improper marketing of its Zyprexa antipsychotic drug.

Indianapolis-based Lilly will pay the state $5.1 million but will not admit any violation of Kentucky’s consumer-protection or Medicaid fraud statutes or any other wrongdoing, Conway’s office said in a news release.

About $3.8 million of the settlement will be paid to the state’s Medicaid program. The rest, minus litigation costs, will be deposited into the state’s general fund, the release said.

The state had alleged that Lilly engaged in “unfair and deceptive practices” by marketing Zyprexa to treat certain psychological disorders although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not approved the drug for treatment of those disorders, according to the release.

Through its “Viva Zyprexa” marketing campaign, Lilly marketed the drug to psychiatrists and primary-care physicians for treatment of depression, anxiety, irritability, disrupted sleep, nausea and gambling addiction, Conway’s office alleged.

Lilly also allegedly persuaded physicians to prescribe Zyprexa for pediatric use, as well as for treating dementia patients, the release said.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is in effect for six years, Lilly must disclose payments of more than $100 to promotional speakers and consultants and register and post all studies conducted on its drugs.

Also under the agreement, Lilly sales representatives are allowed to provide Zyprexa samples only to health care providers whose practice is consistent with the product’s labeling.

If you or a loved one have experienced Zyprexa side effects you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the Zyprexa attorneys of Ennis & Ennis today for a free confidential case evaluation. Our on staff nurse and lawyers are standing by to answer any questions you may have regarding Zyprexa side effects, a possible Zyprexa class action lawsuit, or any other type of Zyprexa litigation.