Lilly agrees to settle criminal investigation over the psych drug Zyprexa.
| Florida | $35.6 Million |
| Ohio | $32.1 Million |
| Texas | $30 Million |
| Missouri | $18 Million |
| Kansas | $1.1 Milion |
Lilly Reaches Zyprexa Settlement
By KERRY E. GRACE
Eli
Lilly & Co. agreed to pay $1.42 billion in a long-awaited
settlement with federal prosecutors regarding allegations of improperly
marketing its blockbuster antipsychotic drug Zyprexa.
A
resolution has been expected since October, when the Indianapolis drug
maker announced it was in “advanced discussions” and had set aside the
settlement’s amount, a record sum in a corporate whistleblower case,
for an eventual settlement in the case.
The company said
Thursday it will pay $615 million to settle a criminal investigation
and nearly $800 million — $438 million to the federal government and
$362 million available for settlements with states — to resolve civil
investigations related to Zyprexa.
As part of the settlement
with the Justice Department, Lilly agreed to plead guilty to one
misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act related to the
off-label promotion of Zyprexa between 1999 and 2001. The guilty plea
says Lilly promoted the drug in elderly people as treatment for
dementia, including Alzheimer’s, although the drug isn’t approved for
such use.
The company said it disagrees with and doesn’t admit
to the allegations, but would settle the dispute. General Counsel
Robert A. Armitage noted in October the probe “has been ongoing for
five years and we now have a heightened sense of responsibility to all
our stakeholders to intensify efforts to resolve these issues.”
Lilly
will also face a period of increased regulation as part of the
settlement — it has entered a corporate integrity agreement with the
Health and Human Services Department. The agreement requires the
company to maintain its compliance program and undertake a set of
obligations related to integrity over five years. The deal also
provides for a third-party review of the company’s policies…
Insurers,
pension funds and unions have been among those seeking compensation
from Lilly, accusing it of concealing Zyprexa’s tendency to cause
weight gain and diabetes and of marketing the drug for unapproved uses
