[Zyprexa-discuss] Momentum builds

[Irwin Fletcher]

 > The Analyst's Corner is really phenomenal!  Giving Lilly a taste of 
 > their own medicine.  
   
 Warning to Lilly: Injesting your own medicine may cause severe headaches and loss of reputation. You can win in the district court and still lose in the court of public appeal.
  

> There must be more we can nitpick - have people all 
> seen  http://zyprexafacts.com ?  That site is so stale though, its been 
> days without any new content. They could really use some technology > that  facilitated the quick and easy publication of content....  ;-)

You mean, like a wiki? I hear pbwiki has a pretty affordable enterprise solution - maybe their web team should check that out. 


> The faq section looks ripe for the picking:
> http://securecontent.lilly.com/zyprexafacts/zyp_settlementfaqs.jsp

 Talk about running scared. You have to check out this section:

  http://securecontent.lilly.com/zyprexafacts/zyp_newsfaqs.jsp

You know the marketing dept is shitting bricks when they blatantly dodge embarrassing questions, and are even stuck using the same vacuous language across different ones.  I think even American's BS detectors can sniff out the truth on these.

http://securecontent.lilly.com/zyprexafacts/zyp_newsfaqs.jsp#Q5

http://securecontent.lilly.com/zyprexafacts/zyp_newsfaqs.jsp#Q6
http://securecontent.lilly.com/zyprexafacts/zyp_newsfaqs.jsp#Q7
http://securecontent.lilly.com/zyprexafacts/zyp_newsfaqs.jsp#Q8

I am going to copy this below in case these BS answers are placeholders and they plan to fix them later:

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Why Has ZYPREXA Been in the News? 

As one of an important class of medications, ZYPREXA has been in the news due to concerns about weight gain and diabetes in people taking antipsychotics. 

More recently, you may have heard or read about the unlawful leak of confidential documents to the New York Times.

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. They do not accurately portray Lilly’s conduct. As part of Lilly’s commitment to patients and healthcare professionals, many high-level Lilly physicians and researchers – along with researchers from outside Lilly – were engaged for a number of years to study the issue of Zyprexa and diabetes.

Leaked documents involving these discussions do not represent an accurate view of company strategy. Lilly deplores the illegal release of select confidential documents. Our concern is that this illegal and selective disclosure of incomplete information will cause unwarranted concern among patients that may cause them to stop taking their medication without consulting a physician. This is the unfortunate result we saw when plaintiffs’ lawyers aggressively advertised about Zyprexa in recent years while searching for clients.
Because what you may have seen or read may not be entirely accurate, you may have some questions that the information below can help answer. If you have questions or concerns that aren't answered here, please talk to your doctor or call The Lilly Answers Center at 1-800-Lilly-Rx (1-800-545-5979).

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News reports claim that documents obtained from a lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Company and Zyprexa show that senior management at Lilly knew about side effects of Zyprexa and tried to minimize them. Is this true? 

No. From the day that Zyprexa was first marketed, the labeling provided to physicians identified the potentially clinically-significant weight gain that was observed in more than half of all patients treated long-term with Zyprexa, as well as the diabetes-related adverse events observed in clinical trials. 

Lilly's Company policy, which is endorsed by senior management, has always supported full disclosure of adverse event information on Zyprexa, and all Lilly medicines, to the FDA. 

In fact, Lilly takes all reports of adverse events very seriously and we work very closely with physicians to make them aware of both the risks and benefits of Zyprexa and our other medications. In addition, we proactively report all adverse events that come to our attention, as well as new research about our medications and their effects, to the FDA. The FDA has looked at the entire body of evidence and has affirmed the benefit that this medicine can provide to patients and provided appropriate labeling regarding benefits and risks. The results of clinical trials for Lilly products can be found on our publicly available, on-line registry - www.lillytrials.com. 

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News reports also claim that management was aware of, and encouraged, the off-label promotion of Zyprexa to broad patient populations, including children and the elderly. Is this true? 

Our sales representatives are well-trained individuals who are required to understand both the benefits and risks for the medication they sell. They are required to provide a balanced summary of both the benefits and the risks associated with those products as described in the product label. Additionally, they often provide resources to assist physicians with possible adverse events their patients may experience when taking our medicines. 

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Did the company share its Zyprexa side effects data with the FDA? 

Yes. Our Company policy has always supported full disclosure of adverse event information on Zyprexa to the FDA. 

In fact, we take all reports of adverse events very seriously and we work very closely with physicians to make them aware of both the risks and benefits of Zyprexa and our other medications. In addition, on an ongoing basis we proactively report all adverse events that come to our attention, as well as new research about our medications and their effects, to the FDA. The FDA has looked at the entire body of evidence and has affirmed the benefit that this medicine can provide to patients and provided appropriate labeling regarding benefits and risks.The results of clinical trials for Lilly products can be found on our publicly available, on-line registry - www.lillytrials.com. 

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News reports claim that Lilly encouraged doctors to prescribe Zyprexa to children and elderly populations for non-approved uses. Is this true? 

Lilly is committed to following the highest ethical standards and to promoting our medications only for approved uses. 

However, it is important that the public understands physicians can and do prescribe medications outside the labeled uses. We believe that the final word on treatment and medication choices is well-placed in the hands of treating physicians who are best qualified to make the most informed decisions in prescribing medications for their patients. 

It is important for doctors to be aware of information about medications, so they have the best available clinical data to help them make informed decisions when choosing a treatment for patients. 

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Documents also indicate the company was aware and sought to promote Zyprexa for treatment of healthy patients and/or to patients with common problems, like anxiety, tension, sleep disorders, mood swings, for which it has no indication. Is this true? 

Lilly is committed to following the highest ethical standards and to promoting our medications only for approved uses. However, these symptoms are very common with patients that have schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and it is very appropriate for sales representatives to discuss these symptoms in the context of the indicated uses of Zyprexa. For these very sick patients, it's important that physicians consider all symptoms when making appropriate prescribing choices for their patients. 

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Is Lilly promoting broader, off-label uses for Zyprexa or its other products, or minimizing the side effect profiles of its drugs as a part of a successful marketing strategy? 

Lilly is committed to following the highest ethical standards and to promoting our medications only for approved uses. We also believe that the final word on treatment and medication choices is well-placed in the hands of treating physicians who are best qualified to make the most informed decisions in prescribing medications for their patients. 

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Lilly says it provides "Answers That Matter." With recent news reports painting a negative picture about the company's conduct, how can the public believe in the answers that your company is providing? 

The Lilly brand is reflective of our company's passion for people, our commitment to the best in science and research, and the integrity we bring to everything we do. These are the very values Eli Lilly established for this company at the outset. These values will continue to shape our enterprise - even in the face of adverse situations such as these. 

We are extremely disappointed that a few confidential documents that were provided as a part of the legal discovery phase of this litigation have been released out of context. These documents are a tiny fraction of the more than 11 million pages of documents provided by Lilly as a part of the litigation process. They provide a misleading snapshot and not the big picture of Lilly's conduct. 

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