AstraZeneca Responds

I received the following statement from Tony Jewell, an AZ spokesman:

"AstraZeneca has studied Seroquel extensively and shared all relevant and required data with the FDA -- both before and after the agency approved it as safe and effective. The company has worked diligently with the FDA to ensure that the safety profile of Seroquel is reflected appropriately in the prescribing information that health care professionals use when making treatment decisions.

"Seroquel has helped millions of people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which can be serious, debilitating mental illnesses.

"AstraZeneca stands behind Seroquel and its clinical research. AstraZeneca has an internal quality assurance program to ensure that our clinical research complies with good clinical practices and meets the highest ethical standards.

"This litigation is about whether Seroquel caused diabetes in individual plaintiffs. The court in the first two cases in the federal multi-district litigation in Florida granted summary judgment because the judge concluded that plaintiffs did not have sufficient evidence to establish Seroquel was responsible for their alleged injuries.

"At this point, there is no trial scheduled in the multi-district litigation because no plaintiff yet has come up with a demonstrated triable claim. AstraZeneca intends to litigate these cases on their individual merits and will defend ourselves vigorously."

Two thoughts: my understanding of why the two cases were dismissed related to Florida state law being applied in the federal court case since the two people are from Florida and there's some kind of local rule down there that gives a different standard from federal law. Two, I don't think the federal court judge has determined that there are no triable claims in the other cases. The plaintiffs' side and the defense team are still wrestling over evidence.