Eli Lilly reduced the number of outstanding Zyprexa cases by900, as its product liability spending for the drug shot past $1.2 billion.
The 900 claims include four cases set to go to trial nextmonth. Many came from patients who said the company hid the risks of weightgain and diabetes associated with Zyprexa, the firm’s top-selling drug.
The company said the cost of the settlements would not bematerial to earnings, and it continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Lilly still faces about 750 product-liability claims relatedto the antipsychotic, and more states could sue. States with cases include Alaska, Mississippi, Louisiana, Utah and West Virginia, all of whichseek to recoup Medicaid money spent caring for Zyprexa patients.
Earlier this year Lilly paid up to $500 million to settleclaims from about 18,000 Zyprexa cases, just months before the first cases wereset to go to trial. That followed the $700 million it paid in 2005 to resolve morethan 8,000 claims.
Zyprexa had 2006 sales of $4.36 billion. The drug accountsfor more than a quarter of Lilly’s revenue and a larger share of its profit.
In 2003 the FDA added a warning to antipsychotic drugs,including Zyprexa, about their tendency to cause high blood sugar. Many of the suitsclaimed that the product insert, prior to the September 2003 change, did notadequately warn of high blood-sugar risk and diabetes.
