Florida Attorney General to Investigate Eli Lilly and Co.

By Elizabeth Rhein

Published on August 08, 2005

In June, 2005, the Florida attorney general's office served a subpoena to obtain documents from drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. The investigation is said to involve Lilly's marketing practices for Medicaid-related sales of its top blockbuster drug.

Marketing-related investigations of drugs are becoming more common as the Department of Health and Human Services' new drug marketing laws go into effect. Among other stipulations, the law prohibits drug companies from plying doctors with gifts in an effort to increase drug prescriptions.

Zyprexa is responsible for the lion's share of Lilly's drug profits, making $4.4 billion in 2004 revenue. The drug has also been the focus of recent warnings from the Food and Drug Administration; studies have shown a possible increase in adverse side effects, including diabetes. In March of 2004, Lilly received notification that a federal prosecutor in Pennsylvania was launching an investigation into their marketing practices for both Zyprexa and two other Lilly drugs.

A spokesman for Eli Lilly has stated that the company is unaware what kind of charges, if any, will be filed by the attorney general's office.

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