January 30, 2009

Eli Lilly Formally Pleads Guilty, Apologies To Investors, Ignores Victims

News is out that Eli Lilly today formally entered a guilty plea in court to criminal misdemeanor charges related to illegal off-label marketing of Zyprexa for dementia, a condition for which the diabetes-inducing atypical antipsychotic is not approved. The plea comes as part of a settlement Lilly reached earlier this month with federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania, wherein the Indianapolis-based drug maker also agreed to pay the feds and about 30 states $1.42 billion. So far, Lilly is on the hook for $2.7 billion in payouts over its nasty little mood pill and, as I noted earlier this week, the company could be forced to kick down another $4 billion to settle remaining states and class action lawsuits. Wouldn't Col. Lilly be proud?

Hell, things got so messed up around Zyprexa that the company was outed by its own employees.

Two thoughts: the company is getting off cheap--Zyprexa has killed more than 3,400 people and injured many thousands more. Second, I can now refer to Lilly from here on out as a criminal corporation or use the adjective criminal in almost any way I want in referring to the company. So can you, and I encourage you to do so. Perhaps it's time to get some T-shirts printed up. I wonder what size the CEO wears.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that a Lilly executive yesterday apologized to investors in an analyst conference call (via BNET Pharma Blog):

"'The company deeply regrets the past actions covered by the plea,' said Phil Johnson, executive director of investor relations, in a call to investors."

Two thoughts for Phil: you are apologizing to the wrong people. You should be apologizing to the many thousands of people your company's drug has killed and maimed due to your company's strategy of lying about how Zyprexa should be used in order to keep the company afloat when Prozac went off-patent in 2001. You should also apologize to the taxpayers everywhere who picked up much of the tab for your company's rotten drug through Medicaid and Medicare. Anytime you criminals want to issue an apology to the public, you know where to find us. We're the ones who aren't on the analyst calls.

Two, you are a couple of letters short of a pretty decent first name.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at January 30, 2009 11:48 AM
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Comments

The CEO wears an XXXL shirt... because he's a FAT CAT! Ha!

Having had conversations with some of Lilly's reps in different doctor's offices, my personal opinion of Lilly is that they apologized to the only people that matter to them - the investors. The patients are simply sheep that pay for the criminal judgements currently against them and the ones that they are afraid are going to come in the future.

To me it seems that the fines and such are becoming an accepted part of business costs like telephone service or leasing floor space, etc., for ALL the pharma companies. From what Dan Carlot writes, it seems that Pharma has lots of money to throw around for CME "stuff" so how much a multi-billion dollar settlement hurt them when it is payed off over time and they can probably write the dumb thing off of their corporate taxes?

Posted by: Stiff Man at January 30, 2009 12:03 PM

Phill Johnson,
You really are apologizing to the wrong people.
Eli-Lilly has many apologies to do around the world.
Since you're a "Johnson" I would like to remind you of Traci Johnson, the 19 years healthy volunteer who hanged herself on February, 2004 during Cymbalta clinical trials.
No need to call her family. Eli-Lilly has already done it. You did $ilence her family.
If anybody knows how can Traci Johnson's family or friend be contacted, please, leave a comment.

you are a couple of letters short of a pretty decent first name.

...and you have killed one person with your surname.


Posted by: Ana at January 30, 2009 01:20 PM

First of all, waiting for Lilly to apologize to me is like waiting for hell to freeze over. The killing of my son is for them a blip on one line item. But I do like the idea of the shirts and will contact cafepress.com. The only reason they were apologizing to the investors is that they are trying to stave off multiple suits by them, too.

I'll get back to you on the shirts. You can sell them at a premium price to Lilly execs. I'm thinking prison stripe motif.

Posted by: Sorrowful at January 30, 2009 01:27 PM

Just in case they are reading add my 21 year old daughter to the apology list. Medicated with Zyprexa from 1999-2005 at age 11-17.

Posted by: Stephany at January 30, 2009 04:32 PM

Philip is a decent name- I would actually consider it if I had a boy along with David for a first name.

However - Phil- yeww, like Dr. Phil?

Regarding the CEO- no T shirt. probably gets his shirts from Brooks Brothers and has his initials monogrammed on the sleeve. And his ties are probably 100 or so as well.

Or maybe not .With the economy heading down the crapper- poor Wall Street exec are eating lunch now at Micky D's according to this past week's Post. They cannot afford a steak and a drink in the chiq former Meat Packing district. Oh Boo Hoo.

Posted by: susan at January 31, 2009 03:05 AM

Lilly was fortunate that its target audiences were often those least empowered and consequently least likely to sue, i.e. mental health consumers, persons with dementia and children. There has been much reporting about the Feds, the States, off-label use and Lilly but too little about Zyprexa victims, their injuries, and the relatively small number of individual litigants - about 32,000.

Doubtless, makers of current antipsychotics and those to be introduced will look to the Zyprexa settlement for guidance when considering their financial exposure vis-a-vie user claimants. They will find considerable comfort in knowing that those who actually took Zyprexa and were injured did not, in so many cases, seek redress. Consequently, they may be gun shy when it comes to promoting off label use but less so when it comes to the safety of their antipsychotics and/or when it comes to disclosing safety issues.(Consider that the Vioxx settlements with user claimants have been $4.85 billion to date versus $1.2 billion for Zyprexa.)

It's hard to say this but when it comes to user claimants and their damages, Eli Lilly won big time.

Posted by: Joe at January 31, 2009 10:44 AM

Joe, Eli Lilly did win big time. So did the law firms, many of whom treated living diabetic victims with mental illness like s^^^. For shame on them as well. There were 30000 of us, living and dead in the billion-two settlement. Do the math.

People who are mentally ill are the perfect Pharma target, even though they try to round up every other possible fake category. "Have" to take the drugs long term, families hoping for a miracle, corruption and drug pushing in the Medicaid system, lack of advoactes or families that are unaware of the risks (God forbid they would be told the risks). Burned out and unsupported families who will try each brass ring, in desperate hope, not knowing the ring is made of dross and death.

I'm still checking into the t shirt concept. If Pharma won't wear them, maybe we could as we meet up in Lafayette Park. I learned long ago that TV likes "visuals". We could have someone even dress up as the angel of death, or a Zyprexa pill. Pretty catchy stuff for TV.

Posted by: Sorrowful at January 31, 2009 10:56 PM

http://www.zazzle.com/warning_antidepressants_kill_tshirt-235363985125117487

Posted by: Becky8171 at February 15, 2009 11:07 AM

I started taking zyprexa in 1997 . Was taken off of it in 2005 . Here's the question . Where are the people we can trust ? I was diagnosed with type 2 dibetes in 2005 . Second question . Are these drug companies made of human beings or what ?

Posted by: CHUBBY CHICK at February 25, 2009 08:47 AM

where is the list of people harmed by zyprexa? i would like to be added to it or at least see if i'm on it!

Posted by: Cathy Kolaski at August 5, 2009 10:14 PM
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