Grassley Requests Zyprexa Marketing Documents

As part of a Senate Finance Committee investigation, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is requesting information from Eli Lilly regarding the marketing of its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa.

In the letter, Grassley asked for documents including emails, letters and reports used by plaintiffs' steering committees in several Zyprexa lawsuits.

Eli Lilly has agreed to settle the lawsuits, which alleged that before September 2003, Zyprexa's warning information did not adequately convey the risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes. Approximately 1,200 claims out of 18,000 involved in the suit remain outstanding, according to the company.

Grassley previously attempted to get the Zyprexa documents from David Egilman, an expert witness in a Zyprexa case. However, Egilman told the committee that he had to return the documents because Eli Lilly claimed some of them were confidential. Grassley suspended his request for the documents until that dispute was resolved, he said.

The committee needs the documents to review the company's marketing habits and ensure that appropriate treatments were provided to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, according to Grassley.

Grassley asked Eli Lilly to give him the Zyprexa documents in an electronic and searchable format by April 25.