Giant pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly & Co. paid doctors to prescribe the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa for off-label uses according to newly released notes from Lilly’s sales representatives. Lilly enticed doctors tor prescribe their drug by offering lucrative speaking engagements, deep-sea fishing trips, Palm-Pilot devices and patient-per-hole golf games.
During golf games, a doctor agreed to start new patients on Zyprexa for each time a sales representative parred, or put the ball in a hole within a predetermined number of strokes. If the sales rep parred four holes, the doctor agreed to prescribe Zyprexa to four new patients.
The notes were made public in South Carolina’s lawsuit against Lilly over Zyprexa marketing practices. State officials contend Indianapolis-based Lilly marketed the drug for unapproved uses and seeks to recoup $200 million it contends it wrongfully spent on Zyprexa prescriptions for ailments other than the approved schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. The state also is seeking a $5,000 fine for each Zyprexa prescription dating back to 1997 that could result in billions of dollars in fines.
Lilly resolved a marketing investigation over Zyprexa in January with the U.S. Justice Department, promising to pay $1.42 billion, including about $362 million to more than 30 states. South Carolina opted not to join that settlement. The only trial of a state’s lawsuit ended with an out-of-court settlement in which Lilly agreed to pay Alaska $15 million.
Zyprexa has been linked to excessive weight gain and diabetes. The lawsuits claim Lilly, faced with the loss of patent protection for its antidepressant Prozac, pushed its sales force to market Zyprexa for numerous non-FDA approved ailments including depression, anger and agitation and failed to properly warn of Zyprexa’s side effects. Lilly already pled guilty to a federal criminal charge of off-label promotion of Zyprexa for use in elderly patients.
Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa scam is just the latest in a long line of examples of a huge drugmaker unjustly enriching itself in the billions of dollars at consumers’ expense.
