Eli Lilly to pay $62M to settle Zyprexa marketing charges

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has agreed $62 million to 33 states to settle charges that it marketed anti-psychotic Zyprexa for unapproved uses. It's not clear what effect the agreement will have on sales of Zyprexa, which was Lilly's best-selling product in 2005 with sales of $4.2 billion.

The settlement closes an 18-month investigation by the attorneys general of Illinois and Oregon, who concluded that Lilly marketed Zyprexa as a treatment for dementia and milder forms of schizophrenia and mania, as well as marketing it for use in children. The FDA has only approved it as a treat for schizophrenia and mania associated with bipolar disorder in adults.

Under the terms of the settlement, Lilly will have to follow ethical marketing guidelines under which medical staff, rather than marketers, must write medical letters sent to doctors.

To learn more about the settlement:
- read this Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report item

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