More than 18,000 Claims Settled by Eli Lilly for Nearly $500 Million

By Keely Hyslop

Published on January 15, 2007

This is the second large cluster of Zyprexa claim settlements to be paid by Eli Lilly at one time. The first involved more than 8,000 claims that were settled in June of 2005 for a little less than $700 million. When asked how the company was able to settle more claims for less money this time around, an Eli Lilly spokesperson explained that the newer claims were less valuable because of a warning label added to the drug in 2003 that addressed a possible diabetes risk.

Approximately 1,200 claims have yet to be settled, but the company has reported that it will go to trial beginning in April to defend itself against these remaining claims. The company has not yet released the exact reason for not paying off these last few claims, saying only that the reasons for finally defending itself are various.

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