Eli Lilly accused of concealing health risks of Zyprexa

Our Corporate Bureau
19 December 2006

Eli Lilly has denied the allegation, saying, that the documents were released "illegally" and that they did not accurately portray Lilly's marketing behaviour.

"The Times failed to mention that these leaked documents are a tiny fraction of the more than 11 million pages of documents provided by Lilly as part of the litigation process," the company said in a statement. "They do not accurately portray Lilly's conduct."

Lilly has been embroiled in long-standing litigation with Zyprexa users who claim the drug can trigger obesity and diabetes.

With sales of $4.2 billion last year, Zyprexa, which is taken by an estimated two million patients, is Lilly's best-selling product that accounts for around a third of the company's sales.

Incidentally, Lilly's second most lucrative product line is its range of diabetes treatment drugs that include Actos, Humulin, and Humalog. Lilly's sales from anti-diabetics are around $2.51 billion.

The report is said to be based on the drug maker's internal marketing documents and e-mail messages among top managers, provided to a lawyer representing mentally ill patients.