Lawsuits Build Against Eli Lilly and Free Prozac Samples

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http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=21106

Lawsuits Build as Eli Lilly Disciplines Employees in Prozac Case

July 26, 2002

By: Hovanyetz

Senior Reporter

scotth@...

More consumers, including a 16-year-old male, claimed this week that they

received unsolicited samples of Prozac in the mail, while drug maker Eli

Lilly & Co. disciplined eight employees involved in the campaign. In a

statement, Eli Lilly said it had completed its investigation of the

allegations and concluded that some of its sales personnel had acted

inconsistent with company policy. Three sales managers and five sales

representatives received disciplinary actions including separation from the

company, demotion, probation and warnings, Eli Lilly said. The statement did

not specify which employees received which types of disciplinary action.

" While the number of Lilly personnel involved was small and the

inappropriate activities limited, Lilly takes the matter very seriously, "

the company said in a statement. " Consequently, Lilly has taken disciplinary

action with those involved. " The issue came to light early this month when a

South Florida woman sued Eli Lilly, the pharmacy Walgreens, Holy Cross

Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and the three doctors and a physician's

assistant from the hospital's medical group. The woman, named in the lawsuit

only as S.K., claimed that she received an unsolicited sample of Prozac

Weekly, a once-a-week version of the antidepressant drug, in a Walgreens

envelope accompanied by a letter from the three doctors and physician's

assistant encouraging her to try the new medicine. The lawsuit sparked an

investigation by the Florida Attorney General's Office into whether Eli

Lilly's campaign violated state fair trade laws and whether consumer privacy

violations in the pharmaceutical marketing industry are widespread. " It

certainly demonstrates that it wasn't a single rogue employee going off the

deep end, " Sheller, the Philadelphia attorney whose office is

representing S.K., said of Eli Lilly's decision to discipline eight

employees. Since S.K.'s lawsuit, other consumers in South Florida have said

they were targeted by the Prozac sampling campaign. One was

Grinstead, 16, of Palm Beach, FL, whose mother has also filed a lawsuit and

is being represented by Sheller's office. According to Sheller, Grinstead's

case involved a different set of doctors than the ones from Holy Cross

Hospital involved in S.K.'s case. The attorney said he is uncertain at this

time exactly how many doctors were involved in mailing the unsolicited

samples. " We're going to get to the bottom of what those doctors were

offered to get them to do this, " Sheller said. Eli Lilly has acknowledged

the Grinstead case and issued an apology to consumers who received the

unsolicited samples. According to Eli Lilly, the incident was limited to

South Florida and has not been reported anywhere else. Sheller said that

several other consumers who claim to have received unsolicited Prozac

samples have approached his office about legal action, though he declined to

say how many at this time

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[Guest guest]

http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=21106

Lawsuits Build as Eli Lilly Disciplines Employees in Prozac Case

July 26, 2002

By: Hovanyetz

Senior Reporter

scotth@...

More consumers, including a 16-year-old male, claimed this week that they

received unsolicited samples of Prozac in the mail, while drug maker Eli

Lilly & Co. disciplined eight employees involved in the campaign. In a

statement, Eli Lilly said it had completed its investigation of the

allegations and concluded that some of its sales personnel had acted

inconsistent with company policy. Three sales managers and five sales

representatives received disciplinary actions including separation from the

company, demotion, probation and warnings, Eli Lilly said. The statement did

not specify which employees received which types of disciplinary action.

" While the number of Lilly personnel involved was small and the

inappropriate activities limited, Lilly takes the matter very seriously, "

the company said in a statement. " Consequently, Lilly has taken disciplinary

action with those involved. " The issue came to light early this month when a

South Florida woman sued Eli Lilly, the pharmacy Walgreens, Holy Cross

Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and the three doctors and a physician's

assistant from the hospital's medical group. The woman, named in the lawsuit

only as S.K., claimed that she received an unsolicited sample of Prozac

Weekly, a once-a-week version of the antidepressant drug, in a Walgreens

envelope accompanied by a letter from the three doctors and physician's

assistant encouraging her to try the new medicine. The lawsuit sparked an

investigation by the Florida Attorney General's Office into whether Eli

Lilly's campaign violated state fair trade laws and whether consumer privacy

violations in the pharmaceutical marketing industry are widespread. " It

certainly demonstrates that it wasn't a single rogue employee going off the

deep end, " Sheller, the Philadelphia attorney whose office is

representing S.K., said of Eli Lilly's decision to discipline eight

employees. Since S.K.'s lawsuit, other consumers in South Florida have said

they were targeted by the Prozac sampling campaign. One was

Grinstead, 16, of Palm Beach, FL, whose mother has also filed a lawsuit and

is being represented by Sheller's office. According to Sheller, Grinstead's

case involved a different set of doctors than the ones from Holy Cross

Hospital involved in S.K.'s case. The attorney said he is uncertain at this

time exactly how many doctors were involved in mailing the unsolicited

samples. " We're going to get to the bottom of what those doctors were

offered to get them to do this, " Sheller said. Eli Lilly has acknowledged

the Grinstead case and issued an apology to consumers who received the

unsolicited samples. According to Eli Lilly, the incident was limited to

South Florida and has not been reported anywhere else. Sheller said that

several other consumers who claim to have received unsolicited Prozac

samples have approached his office about legal action, though he declined to

say how many at this time

_________________________________________________________________

MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:

http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx