Grassley seeks Zyprexa safety and selling data

In a letter,US Senator Charles Grassley (Republican, Iowa), has requested that USA-based drug major Eli Lilly provide additional information on the risk/benefit profile of its antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine), as well as further details of the marketing strategy used to promote the drug. The request follows a series of law suits which accuse the firm of both downplaying the side effect risks associated with the drug, and engaging in off-label promotion.

Lilly won injunction at February trial

In February, the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted Lilly a permanent injunction against several individuals, including David Egllman, an expert witness in previous Zyprexa product liability law suits, attorney James Gottsein and journalist Alex Berenson of the New York Times, who were found to have conspired to leak confidential documents relating to the product (Marketletter February 26).