Quoted from http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-03/lilly-hid-zyprexa-s-diabetes-risks-student-died-lawyer-argues.html
Lilly Hid Zyprexa’s Diabetes Risks, Student Died, Lawyer Argues
November 03, 2011, 6:02 AM EDT
By Jef Feeley and Valerie Reitman
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. didn’t properly warn a patient who took its Zyprexa antipsychotic medication of diabetes risks and the young man died, a lawyer for his family told a jury in the first case to go to trial over the drug.
Cody Tadai, a 20-year-old college student, took Zyprexa to battle mental illness without either him, or his doctor, being properly advised about the drug’s link to diabetes, Ronald Makarem, a Los Angeles-based lawyer, said in closing arguments in the trial of a lawsuit filed by members of Tadai’s family. They contend the student died of diabetes-related ailments in March 2007 and that the drugmaker put profits ahead of the safety of Zyprexa users.
“They chose money over safety,” Makarem told jurors in state court in Los Angeles yesterday. A verdict on behalf of Tadai’s family would remind Lilly executives to ensure “safety comes first and money second,” he added.
Indianapolis-based Lilly, which lost patent protection on Zyprexa last month, has paid out about $2.9 billion to resolve government and individual claims over its marketing of the antipsychotic drug.
Lilly agreed in 2009 to pay $1.42 billion to settle federal prosecutors’ allegations that it illegally marketed Zyprexa for unapproved uses. The drugmaker also agreed to pay more than $260 million to resolve similar state claims. The company also has agreed to pay more than $1.2 billion to settle about 31,000 suits by former users of the drug.
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