Documents Spotlight AstraZeneca’s Promotion of Seroquel


Published On: May 20th, 2009

seroquelPlaintiffs lawyers are using AstraZeneca documents to try to put the company in the hot seat over what it has and hasn’t said about its antipsychotic drug Seroquel.

The documents, part of lawsuits playing out in Orlando, Fla., suggest that AstraZeneca discussed promoting off-label, or unapproved, uses of the drug with children and elderly patients, plaintiffs lawyers say. There isn’t evidence that the company actually engaged in such marketing, however, and the company denies even discussing the idea.

The documents cited plans to “broaden Seroquel use on and off-label.” But a company spokesman told the WSJ the idea was only to seek FDA approval for new uses.

If AstraZeneca is found to have promoted the drug off-label, the consequences might be significant. Witness Eli Lilly, which paid $1.4 billion to settle charges that it had promoted its antipsychotic Zyprexa off-label.

Earlier this year, court documents suggested AstraZeneca misstepped by instructing sales reps to deny that Seroquel caused diabetes, despite a company doctor’s prior statement that it could be linked to diabetes in some patients. The company said the doctor’s view was preliminary, and that more thorough analysis suggested the drug didn’t cause diabetes.

The company faces nearly 10,000 lawsuits by patients alleging that Seroquel caused diabetes and other health problems, although not all the cases involve claims the AstraZeneca promoted off-label uses.

Photo: Bloomberg News


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Documents Spotlight AstraZeneca’s Promotion of Seroquel

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In 2001, rates of death from heart disease were 30 percent higher among African Americans than among whites

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