Furious Seasons

June 19, 2009

AstraZeneca Can't Exclude Diabetes Expert Witness From Seroquel Trials

As I noted yesterday, a few plaintiffs' cases against AstraZeneca over accusations that its antipsychotic Seroquel caused diabetes have been dismissed in Delaware Superior Court recently partly due to a judge's finding that one expert witness could not establish a link between the drug and diabetes. It sure made one wonder where the many thousands of other Seroquel cases were headed.

Now a judge in US District Court in Florida, where about 6,000 Seroquel cases currently reside, has ruled that AZ cannot exclude the testimony of a separate plaintiffs expert witness who will argue a link between the drug and diabetes in some patients. Donna Arnett, professor and chairwoman of the epidemiology department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, argues that Seroquel causes metabolic changes, which can lead to diabetes.

The ruling affects only cases in federal court.

According to Bloomberg, Tony Jewell, an AZ spokesman, said in an emailed statement:

"'The heart of these cases are unproven claims that Seroquel causes diabetes in individual patients.'
"'Judges at both the federal and state levels have dismissed the initial cases prepared for trial, concluding that plaintiffs did not have sufficient evidence to establish that Seroquel was responsible for their alleged injuries,' he said. 'In the cases prepared for trial to date, plaintiffs have been repeatedly unable to prove their claims in court.'"

Yes, but none of those cases have gone to trial to date or been heard by a jury. It's beginning to look as though at least some cases will go to trial, unless AZ's lawyers have further rabbits to pull out of the hat.

In an Arnett deposition released earlier this year, she called Seroquel unsafe, said it led to an increased risk of diabetes and that it hadn't helped the majority of patients in clinical trials as the majority of patients in clinical trials for the drug had dropped out of the trials.

It will indeed be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at June 19, 2009 10:30 AM

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Comments

I think Tony Jewell has his head up his ass for saying this:

""'The heart of these cases are unproven claims that Seroquel causes diabetes in individual patients.'"

Apparently, he is not aware of the thousands of people who never had diabetes, or even have a family history of it, before taking Seroquel. It must be a difficult task being a PR guy for the Titanic.

Posted by: Stephany at June 19, 2009 11:14 AM

Stephany,
Let's hope the next sound we hear is "Glub, glub."
Sherry

Posted by: Sherry at June 19, 2009 11:33 AM

Titanic you say?
No ones talking about the iceberg expected to come in the year 2020. Unless it is already here and we must not speak of it, lest we give it power by acknowledging it.
Is the W.H.O. data estimate true? or is it fearmongering from Pharma Co. to sell more product?

World Health Organization WHO
Page 8
Worldwide, mental and behavioural disorders represented 11% of the total disease burden in 1990, based on disability-adjusted life years. This is predicted to increase to 15% by 2020.
W.H.O. PDF LINK
http://www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/02421D66-3336-4C76-8D59-6ADA8B53D208/0/RC5214.pdf

Posted by: markps2 at June 20, 2009 06:37 AM

Hey, I've had my share of "disability-adjusted life years." My life has been very "adjusted," thanks to my disability.
{;>)

Posted by: Sherry at June 20, 2009 07:07 PM

Those WHO numbers are sooooo outdated. As soon as the new DSM is released, that statement will read:

"Worldwide, mental and behavioural disorders represented 49% of the total disease burden in 1990, based on disability-adjusted life years. This is predicted to increase to 76% by 2020."

Posted by: joe at June 23, 2009 10:13 PM