Engaged in killing children and adults.

[Guest guest]

Holding Eli Lilly Responsible

chapter from New Paradigms in Diabetic Care

International Medical Verities Association

 

 

 

 

If there is any justice in the world history will remember Lilly as the

company that killed babies. These were words I wrote three years ago but now

they are dated for Zyprexa related adult deaths are being fed into a lethal

equation that should end up with someone behind bars. Referencing the killing of

babies had to do with deaths centered on the injection of thimerosal, a mercury

based preservative used in vaccines.[1] This is still going on, it’s not a thing

of the past except in intelligent humane societies that know enough not to

poison their infants with mercury based preservatives. America is not one of

them and Brazil is perhaps the worst because against all measures of sanity they

double the amount of mercury in the vaccines they give to infants.

 

Thimerosal is one of the most toxic compounds I know of,

I can't think of anything that I know of is more lethal.

Dr.

Boyd Haley

Chairman of the Chemistry Department Kentucky U.

 

For more than sixty years the medical community simply trusted the Eli

Lilly Company's assertion that thimerosal/merthiolate (fifty percent mercury by

weight) had a low potential toxicity if injected into humans. Several

generations of public health care officials, doctors and medical educators were

duped into injecting the most toxic and lethal chemical known to man into

infants. Interesting to note though that the FDA itself in 1982 specifically

found that thimerosal was significantly more toxic for living tissue than it was

for the bacteria it was supposed to kill. Documents from the archives of Eli

Lilly & Company clearly demonstrate that it was known as early as April 1930

that the thimerosal was dangerous yet we still have people swearing to its

safety.

 

The Bush administration has tried to protect

Lilly from liability for harm done with its drugs.[2]

The big question is why would a president of the US do that?[3]

 

But today the uproar is not about the babies it’s about adults who have

died from Lilly’s blockbuster drug Zyprexa[4], which is used in the treatment of

schizophrenia and in the short-term treatment of manic episodes associated with

bipolar disorder. Many thousands of people have taken this drug and have

developed diabetes, pancreatitis (inflammation of pancreas), ketoacidosis,

hyperglycemia, seizures, diabetic coma, stroke, heart attack, amputation of a

limb (due to diabetes), severe weight gain, and other medical conditions. If

they took Zyprexa* on or before March 2004 they are entitled to compensation

because of appropriate warnings of the drugs (no longer hidden) dangers were not

given.

 

 

 

There were 20 deaths, including 12 suicides, in the Zyprexa

group. Shockingly, these deaths went unreported in the

scientific literature. The death cover-ups also took place in

reporting trial results of several other atypical antipsychotics.

 

Dr Stefan Kruszewski, a Harvard trained, certified psychiatrist in

adult, adolescent, and geriatric psychiatry finds Lilly's conduct appalling.

Zyprexa causes both a severe metabolic syndrome consisting of obesity, diabetes

and cardiovascular problems. " Medical science has discovered how sensitive the

insulin receptor sites are to chemical poisoning. Metals such as cadmium,

mercury, arsenic, lead, fluoride[ii] and possibly aluminum may play a role in

the actual destruction of beta cells through stimulating an auto-immune reaction

to them after they have bonded to these cells in the pancreas.

 

Today, a month's supply of Zyprexa costs about $380, 10-30 times

more expensive than a month's supply of a conventional antipsychotic.

 

Many drugs have toxic effects that can participate in destroying insulin

creation and cell receptivity to it. In her 1994 book, Poisonous Prescriptions,

Landymore-Lim's says that diabetes may in fact be a major side effect of

pharmaceutical drugs. The book provides evidence from studies and hospital

records. Diabetes, usually thought to be largely a genetic disorder, may

actually have increased so much in the last 50 years due in large part to the

proliferation in the use, and over-use, of medicines.

 

The American Diabetes Association found in 2004 that Zyprexa

was more likely to cause diabetes than other, similar drugs.[5]

 

 

The American Diabetes Association, American Psychiatric Association,

American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the North American

Association for the Study of Obesity issued a consensus statement asking doctors

to carefully screen and monitor patients on these medications for signs of rapid

weight gain or other problems that could lead to diabetes, obesity and heart

disease and refer them to specialists if necessary.[6] Some reports claim a

tenfold increase in the risk of metabolic disorders and diabetes with the use of

Zyprexa as opposed to other drugs in this same class.

 

 

Documents reveal the illegal marketing schemes

used by Lilly to make Zyprexa its best-seller.

 

The New York Times reported in the first week of January of 2007 that Eli

Lilly agreed today to pay up to $500 million to settle 18,000 lawsuits from

people who claimed they developed diabetes or other diseases after taking

Zyprexa, Lilly's drug for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Including earlier

settlements over Zyprexa, Lilly has now agreed to pay at least $1.2 billion to

28,500 people who claim they were injured by the drug. At least 1,200 suits are

still pending, the company said. About 20 million people worldwide have taken

Zyprexa since its introduction in 1996.

 

The internal documents show that in Lilly’s clinical trials, 16 percent

of people taking Zyprexa gained more than 66 pounds after a year

on the drug, a far higher figure than the company disclosed to doctors.

New York Times[7]

 

Eli Lilly paid nearly 700 million dollars in a first settlement to settle

existing suits from people who have been harmed after using Zyprexa. This

settlement was based on allegations that the Zyprexa label in use before March

2004 did not contain adequate warnings regarding serious potential side effects.

In addition, published reports indicate that as far back to the 1950’s, studies

tied the use of Zyprexa and similar drugs to increased risk of diabetes,

pancreatitis, hyperglycemia and other serious conditions. However, it is alleged

that Eli Lilly continued to market Zyprexa without adequate warnings, even in

light of this information.

 

Eli Lilly had been the number one player in the US diabetes market

since the 1920's. Of all companies they should have been highly

sensitive about producing and marketing a drug that causes diabetes

.

Ted Chabasinski, a human rights activist on the MindFreedom board,

commented that, " I'm an attorney, and I think the reason Lilly is panicking is

that these documents literally show a conspiracy to commit murder. People talk

about how these documents show that Lilly committed fraud. They do. But more

importantly, if someone deliberately does something that they know will cause

the death of another person, they have committed a homicide -- murder. Lying

about the effects of Zyprexa has led to the deaths of many people. " Since Lilly

does business in almost all states, and since people died as a result of

Lilly's behavior as evidenced by these documents, if there were a courageous

prosecutor somewhere who saw these documents, conceivably Lilly's executives

could go to jail. " Speaking to the judge in hearings to grant an injunction

against distribution of these documents Mr. Chabasinski stated: “The documents

are evidence of Lilly’s criminal behavior and willingness

to kill people for profit.”

 

The Lilly documents prove that the company knew that

Zyprexa was causing diabetes, and kept pushing the drug anyways

Evelyn Pringle

 

“Lilly entered into an out-of-court settlement in June 2005, and agreed

to pay $690 million to cover claims by about 8000 Zyprexa victims. But in order

to get paid, the plaintiffs were required to sign a confidentiality clause and

basically keep their mouths shut about Zyprexa from then on,” writes Pringle.

But the secret has gotten out and the files were posted up on many sites on the

internet. Read Evelyn Pringles most recent article here, which will update you

to the most recent legal struggles with Lilly.[8]

 

 

Ellen Liversridge wants a criminal investigation of Lilly. She lost her

30-year-old son, Rob, to the adverse effects of the drug. " He gained almost 100

pounds while taking Zyprexa, " Ellen says. " Rob lapsed into a coma, " she recalls,

" and died of profound hyperglycemia four days later on October 5, 2002. " " I

believe that the people who did this should have a criminal trial, " Ellen says.

" Enron executives went to prison for wiping out people's life savings, " she

points out. " Lilly executives should go to prison, " she says, " for knowingly

being responsible for people's deaths, shattered families; ruined and grieving

families. "

 

Can there ever be justice for a crime as heinous as this?

Ellen Liversridge

 

“The most important story about Eli Lilly is that Lilly’s two current

blockbuster psychiatric drugs—Zyprexa and Prozac—are, in scientific terms, of

little value. It is also about how Lilly and the rest of Big Pharma have

corrupted psychiatry, resulting in the increasing medicalization of unhappiness.

This diseasing of our malaise has diverted us from examining the social sources

for our unhappiness—and implementing societal solutions,” writes Bruce E.

Levine, PhD, a psychologist and author of Commonsense Rebellion: Taking Back

Your Life from Drugs, Shrinks, Corporations and a World Gone Crazy. One review

of 52 studies involving 12,649 patients concluded, " There is no clear evidence

that the atypical antipsychotics are more effective or better tolerated than

conventional antipsychotics. " [9]

 

What Eli Lilly had to do was cover up that risk of mania

and psychosis, cover up that some people were

becoming suicidal because they were getting this nervous

agitation from Prozac. That's the only way it got approved.

 

Eli Lilly is still paying their hard-hitting attorneys to try to frighten

citizens into silence, " said David Oaks, director of MindFreedom International.

" This is reminiscent of the way the Nixon administration tried to keep the

Pentagon Papers secret even after the materials were in the hands of the NY

Times. " So intense is the heat coming from Lilly’s lawyers that writers like

Evelyn Pringle attached the following to the end of her essay. “To avoid having

my name added to the dastardly list above and the risk of being subjected to the

harassment tactics of Lilly attorneys; I hereby declare for the record, that I

did not receive copies of the Lilly documents from Mr. Gottstein.”

 

It is criminal behavior on a huge scale that is being virtually

totally ignored by the authorities responsible for the public safety.

Larry Bone

 

For more than 10 years, the drug companies have consistently downplayed

some of the serious risks associated with taking atypical antipsychotic drugs.

Psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey, a leading proponent of drug therapy for

schizophrenics, has written about one of the techniques used to mislead

physicians and the public: " Psychiatrists trying to evaluate schizophrenia drugs

are not told that the expert who minimizes the side effects of Zyprexa receives

a $10,000 retainer from Eli Lilly and also owns substantial company stock. "

[American Prospect, July 15, 2002]

 

Though the government is in bed with Lilly the company is facing Medicaid

fraud charges in lawsuits all over the county. Because Zyprexa causes diabetes

public health programs have been left to pick up the tab for the medial

expenses. States are going after Lilly for fraud and restitution related to the

promotion of Zyprexa for off-label use and the concealment of its risks.

 

In 2002, British and Japanese regulatory agencies warned

that Zyprexa may be linked to diabetes, but even after the

FDA issued a similar warning in 2003, Lilly’s Zyprexa train

was not derailed, as Zyprexa posted a 16 percent gain over 2002.

 

Despite all these facts, the media has paid scant attention to the fact

that Lilly has had to pay out now more than a billion dollars to victims of its

drug Zyprexa. And despite these facts, there hasn't been a single voice of

outrage or protest heard in the halls of Congress or on the evening news. The

fact that Eli Lilly has made no special effort to warn the public of the

potentially disastrous consequences of taking Zyprexa, as it continues to rake

in profits from the sale of this drug, tells us all we need to know about the

heart of this company.

 

Worldwide in 2003, Zyprexa grossed $4.28 billion, accounting for

slightly more than one-third of Lilly’s total sales. In the United

States in 2003, Zyprexa grossed $2.63 billion, 70 percent of

that attributable to government agencies, mostly Medicaid.

 

“The drug is of paramount importance to Eli Lilly's bottom line. The

company seems to have developed a Zyprexa addiction, from which withdrawal will

be difficult. Eli Lilly has also realized indirect profits from Zyprexa sales.

It's a cruel irony that while the company is filling its coffers by selling a

drug that can cause diabetes, four of its top-selling drugs are treatments for

diabetes, with Humulin and Humalog each expected to top $1 billion in annual

revenues. Eli Lilly gets the customer coming and going,” writes Leonard Roy

Frank.

 

The review of Medicaid records, reported in the

April 2006, Oregon Health News, found that 41% of

the preschoolers were prescribed psychiatric drugs for ADD.[10]

 

The rate of children treated with atypicals " is growing dramatically

faster than the rate for adults, " said Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer

for Medco. " Doctors need to be judicious when prescribing antipsychotic drugs to

children, " Epstein warned. " There is evidence that the risk of diabetes and

metabolic disorders from using atypical antipsychotics could be much more severe

for pediatric patients than adults, " he said. The use of these drugs, " Dr

Epstein warned, " can have the pediatric patient trading a behavioral condition

for a lifelong metabolic condition that can lead to significant health

complications. "

 

The studies in adults with Zyprexa that Lilly submitted to the

FDA demonstrate, as far as I can establish, a higher death rate

on Zyprexa than on any other anti-psychotic ever

recorded.

David Healy M.D.[11]

 

Where is all this damaging information leading and particularly

concerning the children exposed to this drug, often for inappropriate uses? The

huge issue that no one seems to want to pay much attention to is the fact that

the inappropriate uses of Zyprexa are skyrocketing in children. The reason all

this hidden information has come to light is because they found out Lilly was

promoting for use in elderly with dementia, a use of the drug that is most

inappropriate. Very little though is brought up anywhere about its use in

children. The drug is being used in children who do not have schizophrenia or

bipolar disorder; in children with depression, anxiety, behavior disorders,

school problems, Attention Deficit Disorder, and even eating disorders.

 

" The young tend to run into problems quickly, " said Henk-Jan Aanstoot, a

pediatric diabetes specialist from Rotterdam who is helping to coordinate the

International Diabetes Foundation’s childhood diabetes campaign. " Diabetes has

become a chronic and common disease among children and often these children

die, " Francine Kaufman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern

California medical school, told a news conference at the World Diabetes Congress

in Cape Town. " The childhood obesity epidemic is really driving diabetes in

children, "

 

No story about Eli Lilly can be complete without including the fact that

they, for business reasons alone, have removed efficacious insulins from the

market, used for years by diabetics to maintain good control, and with fewer

adverse incidents than the newer and faster insulins. In 2005 they removed all

natural insulins from the market, leaving thousands of type one diabetics

stranded without their lifelines, forced to switch to rDNA insulins or import at

tremendous cost and burden to their wellbeing. [12], [13] ,[14]

 

It is clear that Eli Lilly executives have taken no responsibility for

the harm they've caused. They've made no apology. There's been no contrition.

There's only been denial. Eli Lilly CEO Sidney Taurel has said of the first

legal settlement: " While we believe the claims are without merit, we took this

difficult step because we believe it is in the best interest of the company, the

patients who depend on this medication, and their doctors. We wanted to reduce

significant uncertainties involved in litigating such complex cases. "

 

 

 

Frank concludes his essay on Lilly with these words. “Because of Enron's

fraudulent accounting practices, many people lost their savings. Because of

fraudulent drug-information from Eli Lilly, many more people lost their health

or their lives. But unlike the Enron scandal, none of the responsible parties at

Eli Lilly has been sent to prison or even been charged with a crime. Bringing

Eli Lilly executives to justice is not likely to happen anytime soon. Meanwhile,

what is to be done? Call it a crime; call it a tragedy; it's surely a

public-safety problem of vast proportions, one demanding government

intervention. Warning people who take or might take Zyprexa about its grave

risks is not a sufficient safeguard. When, in the early 1960s, the drug

thalidomide was shown to cause horrible deformities in the newborns of thousands

of women, the FDA banned it. Is death a less disastrous drug effect than

deformity? How many more people will have to die before the government

steps in to protect citizens by prohibiting the sale of Zyprexa?”[15]

.

So is Eli Lilly continuing to get away with murder? Or is it perfectly

fine to have people die as a consequence of corporate activity and profit? When

it comes to Lilly there is no end to the horror and terror. Dr. Bruce Levine

writes that “Perhaps the most cinematic of all Lillygates culminated in 1997.

The story began in 1989 when Joseph Wesbecker—one month after he began taking

Prozac—opened fire with his AK-47 at his former place of employment, killing 8

and wounding 12 before taking his own life. British journalist John Cornwell

covered the Louisville, Kentucky trial for the London Sunday Times Magazine,

ultimately writing a book about it. Cornwell’s The Power to Harm (1996) is not

only about a disgruntled employee becoming violent after taking Prozac, but is

also about Eli Lilly’s power to corrupt the judicial system.”

 

“Victims of Joseph Wesbecker sued Eli Lilly, claiming that Prozac had

pushed Wesbecker over the edge. The trial took place in 1994, but received scant

attention as the public was transfixed by the O.J. Simpson spectacle. While Eli

Lilly had been settling many Prozac violence cases behind closed doors (more

than 150 Prozac lawsuits had been filed by the end of 1994), it was looking for

a showcase trial that it could win. Although a 1991 FDA “blue ribbon panel”

investigating the association between Prozac and violence had voted not to

require Prozac to have a violence warning label, by 1994 word was getting around

that five of the nine FDA panel doctors had ties to Big Pharma—two of them

serving as lead investigators for Lilly-funded Prozac studies. Thus, with the

FDA panel now known to be tainted, Lilly believed that Wesbecker’s history was

such that Prozac would not be seen as the cause of his mayhem.”

 

Yet millions of diabetics and the general population at large are

supposed to continue to trust the Eli Lilly Company with their lives. The

wonderful government of the United States thinks so and continues to condone the

poisoning of its citizens with drugs made by corporations even if they have been

proven to cause harm. The general population acts like a child who is being

abused by its parents. They continue to love and trust even if that abuse

becomes outright sexual abuse and rape. There are deep psychological fault lines

that run through us that leave us vulnerable to vultures who suck up our trust

for their own profit.

 

As long as we allow such companies to exist society is filling up its

foundation with blood. We can begin to have hope in the future when we see the

doors to companies like Lilly closed for good. But many will fill their brains

with rationalizations for why we should continue to allow chemical rapists to

continue to operate. A chemical rapist company is one who knows their product

will kill and do immeasurable harm and continues to do so for great gain. In

reality we are talking about something simple, its murder for profit!

 

People should question strongly the doctors who are prescribing Zyprexa

for any reason. For bipolar disorder, they are not prescribing Zyprexa for short

term management of mania. It is prescribed for long term use, and is now even

used in combination with antidepressants. So out of touch with reality are Lilly

executives that believe it or not they are now conducting clinical trials for

using Zyprexa for the prevention of migraine.[16] It is more than stupid to

substitute an extremely dangerous drug like Zyprexa for a natural substance like

magnesium chloride, which would be extremely effective in both the avoidance of

and treatment of migrains. If Lilly believes that medical poisons are the royal

road to disease prevention we should not miss them and certainly not trust them

for anything other than continuing to act from a criminal inhumane paradigm that

kills babies and people.

 

If everything said above is not enough to bury Lilly executives and their

shareholders let it be known that this company is now also conducting clinical

trials using Zyprexa on autistic children.[17] Imagine the company that has

killed babies and in all likelihood provoked a great part of the autism epidemic

by injecting mercury into them but now poisons the kids again with another toxic

drug that puts them at risk for diabetes. This is corporate America at its

worst. It is also government at its worst because of the close ties between

ruling families like the Bush family.

 

All of the above reveals an incredible lack of integrity among health

officials, medical organizations, the medical media and doctors themselves. We

keep hearing that there is no cure for diabetes and no exactly known cause. But

this is a lie and a bold one at that. Zyprexa causes diabetes! This needs to be

repeated many times. Zyprexa causes diabetes! Many cases of diabetes can be

avoided simply by taking this drug off the market. Unfortunately many drugs and

chemicals used in foods also cause diabetes but no one wants to talk about that.

But this book will and in the end we will see that diabetes is caused in large

part by the medical industrial complex and thus is an iatrogenic disease. The

FDA though bears the greatest responsibility in the end for not only are drugs a

primary cause but many of the chemicals routinely put in foods are also causing

this disaster.

 

Mark Sircus Ac., OMD International Medical Veritas Association

http://www.imva.info

http://www.magnesiumforlife.com

 

 

 

 

International Medical Veritas Association

Copyright 2007 All rights reserved.

 

 

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