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WASHINGTON
— Sen. Chuck Grassley is asking the drug maker, Eli Lilly and Company,
for information related to the risks and marketing of the
anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa.
Grassley made this request in
response to allegations that the company downplayed safety risks and
engaged in other improper marketing practices that may be jeopardizing
patients’ health. The text of Grassley’s letter follows here.
April 4, 2007
Via Electronic Transmission
Sidney Taurel
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly Corporate Center
Indianapolis, IN 46285
Dear Mr. Taurel:
As a senior member
of the United States Senate and as Ranking Member of the Committee on
Finance (Committee), I have an obligation to ensure that the public’s
money is properly spent to provide safe and effective treatments to the
vulnerable populations that are beneficiaries of the Medicare and
Medicaid programs.
I am aware of
several pending products liability actions regarding Zyprexa, an
anti-psychotic drug manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company (Eli Lilly).
Specifically, questions have been raised regarding safety information
and marketing practices relating to that drug. Furthermore, I
understand that Eli Lilly produced certain documents in the course of
these litigations that shed light on issues of interest to the
Committee.
On December 20,
2006, I wrote to Dr. David Egilman, a plaintiffs’ expert, to request
information and documents related to Zyprexa. Dr. Egilman did not
provide any confidential Eli Lilly documents regarding Zyprexa.
Instead, Dr. Egilman responded to my request by providing the Committee
with a copy of a discovery order, dated December 15, 2006, instructing
him to return Eli Lilly documents in his possession to Richard D.
Meadow of the Lanier Law Firm. Eli Lilly had alleged that some of its
confidential documents had been disseminated without the company’s
authorization. Although no one affiliated with the Committee was a
party to that dispute, I decided to suspend efforts to obtain the
relevant documents until that dispute was resolved.
On February 14,
2007, Judge Jack Weinstein of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of New York issued a decision regarding the confidential Eli
Lilly documents. The court enjoined several individuals from further
disseminating the protected documents and ordered them to return any
such documents and copies still in their possession or control.
Contrary to what was reported in Judge Weinstein’s decision, the
Committee’s Chief Investigative Counsel, Emilia DiSanto, did not
receive any protected documents related to Zyprexa from Mr. James
Gottstein or Dr. Egilman. Nor did Mr. Gottstein or Dr. Egilman provide
any protected documents related to Zyprexa to other Committee staff.
As the dispute
regarding the dissemination of the documents is now resolved, I believe
the time is now right for the Committee to pursue its request for the
documents. I am writing to request your cooperation with the
Committee’s inquiry. In that regard please provide to the Committee all
documents and materials, including, but not limited to, emails,
letters, reports, and memoranda, that were made available to the
court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee I and II pursuant to
pretrial discovery in In re Zyprexa Prods. Liab. Litig.
Thank you in
advance for assisting the Committee. I would appreciate receiving the
requested documents in an electronic and searchable format by no later
than April 25, 2007.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senator
Ranking Member, Committee on Finance
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