Seroquel Promoted As Weight Neutral When Company Knew It Produced Large Weight Gain

According to court documents released to Bloomberg yesterday, AstraZeneca pushed its sales reps to claim that Seroquel, the company's atypical antipsychotic, was "weight neutral" four years after the company had determined that there were "clinically significant" weight gains among users of the drug (and increased risk of diabetes).

"AstraZeneca’s 'global strategy is to demonstrate to consumers that Seroquel has a weight-neutral profile,' Debbie Holdsworth, a marketing official, wrote in a 'dear colleague' letter dated May 14, 2001."

Here's the BS explanation of the weight neutral claim by John Patterson, a former AZ executive:

"'If you look at the population as a whole, some are below weight, some are average weight and some are above weight, so that taken together the effect of Seroquel is weight neutral,' Patterson said. Some underweight patients may even be helped in gaining weight by using the drug, he said."

Please. I wish AZ good luck with that line of argument should one of the cases against it ever go to trial.

Here's what pisses me off on a personal level: In April 2004, I began seeing a new psychiatrist and was upfront with him that I was dissatisfied with the meds I was on at the time (Depakote and Wellbutrin, and had gone off Risperdal a few months before) and that I was tired of all the weight I had gained on them. I'd managed to get my weight back down to about 220 pounds after going off Risperdal and I told me doctor that I wouldn't consider any new medication that caused weight gain. He suggested that I get off the Depakote and Wellbutrin and go on Lamictal and a low dose of Seroquel. He assured me that he knew of no weight gain issues with Seroquel. One year later, I had put on 25 pounds and it sure wasn't due to Lamictal. If my doctor had known the truth and told me, I would've never consented to take Seroquel.

So thanks for misleading doctors and patients everywhere, AstraZeneca.