Drug company Eli Lilly accepts billion-euro fine for advertising
The Indianapolis-based drug company Eli Lilly wants to settle years of legal disputes over controversial advertising practices for its schizophrenia drug Zyprexa with a billion-euro payment.
The Indianapolis-based drug company Eli Lilly wants to settle years of legal disputes over controversial advertising practices for its schizophrenia drug Zyprexa with a billion-euro payment.
As the company announced on Thursday, Eli Lilly agreed to pay a total of around 1.4 billion dollars. The drug manufacturer admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay 615 million dollars to settle a criminal case and around 800 million dollars to settle a civil case.
The company pleaded guilty to advertising the use of Zyprexa between 1999 and 2001 for indications for which the drug had not been approved. This included, in particular, advertising Zyprexa for the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in the elderly. In 2007, the company generated sales of 4.76 billion dollars from Zyprexa alone. That is around a quarter of the Group's annual turnover. It has around 40,000 employees worldwide.
As the company announced on Thursday, Eli Lilly agreed to pay a total of around 1.4 billion dollars. The drug manufacturer admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay 615 million dollars to settle a criminal case and around 800 million dollars to settle a civil case.
The company pleaded guilty to advertising the use of Zyprexa between 1999 and 2001 for indications for which the drug had not been approved. This included, in particular, advertising Zyprexa for the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in the elderly. In 2007, the company generated sales of 4.76 billion dollars from Zyprexa alone. That is around a quarter of the Group's annual turnover. It has around 40,000 employees worldwide.
