AZ e-mail reveals "buried"Seroquel data
Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca has been accused of suppressing negative trial data for its blockbuster Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate), after an internal e-mail was made public as part of ongoing litigation. Shares in the firm fell 5% to GBP22.43 pence on the day of the news, February 27.
The company agreed with the court to unseal the 1997 e-mail, in which Richard Lawrence, marketing director for specialty care at AZ, admitted that the results of certain trials for the antipsychotic Seroquel had been "buried," while the firm's scientists had reported only "cherry-picked," positive data from another study, while covering up less-favorable aspects of the results.
AstraZeneca faces around 9,000 law suits from patients claiming Seroquel causes diabetes and other health problems, as well as that the firm promoted the drug for off-label use.
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