March 10, 2008
Expert Doctor: Lilly Should Have Warned about Zyprexa Dangers Earlier
In what is becoming commonplace, a judge or federal agency official blasts a pharmaceutical company for not revealing a drug's dangerous side effects earlier. This time, expert witness Dr. John Gueriguian has testified that Eli Lilly should have told the public about Zyprexa's dangerous side effects as early as 1998. Instead, Lilly chose to hide the findings from the public and health officials. According to his testimony in the Alaska Zyprexa trial, Eli Lilly put “profit over concern of the consumer." Zyprexa's side effects include weight gain and the onset of diabetes. The drug, manufactured by Eli Lilly, is prescribed to treat schizophrenia. Of course, Eli Lilly denies any culpability and says it fully disclosed everything it knew about Zyprexa to the FDA. However, in this trial in which the state of Alaska is suing Eli Lilly in order to recover costs associated with Medicaid patients who developed diabetes as a result of taking Zyprexa, the witness is an expert in diabetes and was an FDA reviewer for 20 years prior to his retirement. Eli Lilly will have to do more than its usual public relations spin to put one over on this expert.
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