The WSJ Health Blog is reporting that:
Eli Lilly has been dogged by concerns about the safety of its drug Zyprexa, which is approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
This morning the company said it’s beefing up the warnings on weight gain and increases in blood sugar, cholesterol and other fats associated with taking Zyprexa. The drug, Lilly’s biggest seller, already carried some warnings about these risks, but the new cautions go quite a bit further. The letter Lilly is sending to doctors to alert them to the changes in the instructions for the drug is here.
One key change may put Zyprexa at a disadvantage to other meds. The new labeling says that Zyprexa (generic name: olanzapine) may be more likely to drive up blood glucose levels than other atypical antipsychotics. Other drugs in this class include J&J’s Risperdal, AstraZeneca’s Seroquel, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Abilify and Pfizer’s Geodon.
The labeling also includes information on weight gain, and increases in blood sugar and lipids in adolescents. The drug, unlike Risperdal, isn’t approved for use in patients under 18, but it is often prescribed off-label for adolescents.
As somebody else noted:
Isn't this move by Lilly 10 years and at least 1,000 deaths too late?
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