The Public has a Right to Know About the Dangers of Zyprexa

[donsu]

http://www.counterpunch.com/pringle01122007.html


The Secrets in Eli Lilly's Cabinet


In deciding whether to allow Eli Lilly to continue to use court orders to hide documents that show the company illegally marketed Zyprexa for unapproved uses and failed to warn the public about the serious health risks associated with the drug for a decade, the court needs to consider the harm done to the public by Lilly's conduct.

The public has a right to know everything about the drugging for profit scheme revealed in the documents since the majority of profits made off Zyprexa came from the public trough. The court needs to recognize the harm done to tax payers in billing public health care programs like Medicaid for the massive off-label sale of the drug. According to the October 23, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle, nationwide, Medicaid programs purchase an estimated 60 to 75% of antipsychotic drugs.

In California for instance, in the year ending June 2005, Zyprexa was the highest expenditure at close to $250 million. On November 28, 2005, the Indianapolis Business Journal listed Zyprexa as the most costly antipsychotic covered by South Carolina's Medicaid program with a month's supply of 20-milligram tablets costing South Carolina $700.52 at the time.


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According to the New York Times, the company documents at issue show that Lilly knew full well about Zyprexa's association with diabetes and weight gain that often leads to diabetes. The public's right to know about this charge can not be easily dismissed considering the costs to the public of paying for the care of the tens of thousands of Zyprexa victims who developed diabetes.
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The fact is, Lilly has doctors prescribing Zyprexa off-label to children and billing state Medicaid programs all over the country. For instance, a study in the August 3, 2004, Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, found the number of Tennessee children covered by TennCare, who were prescribed antipsychotics nearly doubled in six years. The largest increases were among children aged 13 to 18 at 116%, followed by a 93% increase in children aged 6 to 12, and a 61% increase in use with preschool children.
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Last month, the New York Times reported details from the documents that Lilly wants to keep hidden, and revealed that Lilly sales representatives were promoting Zyprexa with primary care physicians specifically for the off-label treatment of dementia.
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the stars are my doing.

the snips hold info on the criminality of Lilly

Lilly should be put out of business and the CEO's put into jail for the suffering caused to our children, and adults.

think of the harm done by making kids think something is wrong with their brains. and forcing them to take medicine that gives them serious medical problems.

a pox on all things Lilly

[Benhurst]

1. Thanks for the post, donsu. These criminals should be tossed

in jail and the key thrown away.

[stillcool]

2. I'm glad I stopped taking it...

it seems like damn near every drug I've been prescribed has had some very nasty side-effects. The incestuous relations between the pharmaceutical/energy and defense industry are having some nasty side-effects as well.

[halobeam]

3. Check this out...

seven years ago I was misdiagnosed with bipolar...(later accurately diagnosed with depression), along with depakote, given Zyprexa that had me gain in four months almost seventy pounds. Currently, I'm getting tested for diabetes. Thank you so much for the info. I can't tell you how this makes me feel right now. The pounds of sweets I ate from abnormal cravings, and the hunger that was never satisfied was truly bewildering. I can't imagine a child going through this, besides the emotional trauma of gaining an incredible amount of weight... NEVER helps someone who feels like **it about themselves.

I second the pox on Lily.