Lawsuit Accuses Antipsychotic Zyprexa of Causing Diabetes, Weight Gain

An Illinois woman has joined the growing ranks of people who have sued the makers of the popular antipsychotic drug Zyprexa for causing diabetes, weight gain, and other serious complications.

Plaintiff Irene Adams accuses Eli Lilly of knowing about the risks associated with Zyprexa but failing to warn users and physicians. Zyprexa is prescribed to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, manic episodes, and other disorders.

Adams filed her lawsuit on October 5 in St. Clair County Circuit Court, according to a report today in the Madison-St. Clair Record. Adams and other plaintiffs, including some who have children or other loved ones who died while taking the drug, claim Eli Lilly should have changed Zyprexa’s labeling to include the health risks years before the company finally did so.

“Although Lilly knew, or should have known, of the defective nature of Zyprexa, it continued to design, manufacture, market and sell Zyprexa so as to maximize sales and profits at the expense of the public health and safety, in knowing, conscious and deliberate disregard of the foreseeable harm caused by Zyprexa,” the suit states.

The lawsuit says people taking Zyprexa started suffering serious health problems soon after taking the drug for the first time. The injuries include hyperglycemia, acute weight gain, a worsening of diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, seizures, diabetic comas or pancreatitis, the Record reports.

As early as 1998, just two years after Zyprexa hit the United States market, Eli Lilly started receiving hundreds of reports from users complaining of health problems, the lawsuit states. It was not until October 2007, however, that the company changed Zyprexa’s labeling and acknowledged a link between the drug and high blood sugar compared to other antipsychotic drugs.

In 2003, Eli Lilly was ordered by the Food and Drug Administration to include labeling warnings about the increased risks of developing diabetes from Zyprexa. The FDA warning applied to all antipsychotic drugs, not just Zyprexa.

Adams’ lawsuit alleges six causes of action, including negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of implied warranty and breach of express warranty, according to the Record. The suit seeks financial compensation, non-economic compensatory damages, and other damages.

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