Yet instead of keeping the focus on why the 11 million documents were ever permitted to remain hidden in the first place, Judge Weinstein is allowing Lilly to hammer away at the messengers who gave the documents to the press, after deciding that the information needed to be circulated before more people were injured and killed.
In a January 17, 2007, hearing, Mr Gottstein was asked: "In this particular case involving Zyprexa, at the time you subpoenaed Dr. Egilman, had you the impression that Eli Lilly had deliberately withheld from the public and from physicians adverse side effects of Zyprexa?"
He answered: "Absolutely."
Mr Gottstein was then asked whether it was his impression that there were thousands of cases of harm to people from Zyprexa, while Lilly was in the process of settling cases out of court, and he said yes and that was why he wanted the documents out there "to protect people from this drug."
He had nothing to gain personally by providing the documents the Times. Mr Gottstein testified that he does not represent clients who were injured by Zyprexa for money damages and that his sole interest was protecting patients.
On January 25, 2007, in response to a request for Dr Egilman to appear at a deposition in preparation for Lilly to file civil and criminal contempt of court charges against him, though his attorney, Dr Egilman informed Lilly's legal team that he will refuse to testify under the protection of the Fifth Amendment.
A number of persons restrained by the injunction have obtained attorneys to file briefs with First Amendment arguments including the public's right to know what is in the documents and some people appeared at the last court hearing.
Ms Sharav and Dr Cohen point out in their brief, that they are not ex-employees of Lilly who have stolen trade secrets. They are merely a public health advocate and a professor who seek to share Lilly's own words with the public and they view exposing the information that "Lilly wants so desperately to keep hidden" as their primary public role.
Ms Sharav testified at the January 17, 2007, hearing, and when asked why she was interested in the documents by a Lilly attorney, said because they document the fact that Lilly knew in 2000, that Zyprexa caused diabetes, "from a group of doctors that they hired who told them you have to come clean."
"And instead of warning doctors who are widely prescribing the drug," she testified, "Eli Lilly set about in an aggressive marketing campaign to primary doctors."
"Little children are being given this drug," she said, "Little children are being exposed to horrific diseases that end their lives shorter."
"Now, I consider that a major crime," she stated, "to continue to conceal these facts from the public is I think really not in the public interest. This is a safety issue."
Lilly's attorney asked the court to strike her comments from the record but the request was denied.
Attorney, Alan Milstein, appeared on behalf of Ms Sharav, the AHRP, and Dr Cohen, and toward the end of the hearing noted that in handling the underlying Zypexa litigation, the judge had had occasion to look at the documents in question or at least to read the Times articles and stated: "What is abundantly clear is that they are not trade secrets."
"Lilly in no way fears dissemination of these documents to their competitors, to Merck or to Glaxo," Mr Milstein told Judge Weinstein.
"What Lilly wants to prevent," he said, "is the public at large, the consumers of its products, from seeing these documents and learning the truth about the product that Lilly produces and the way it markets it."
I am Daniel Haszard took Eli Lilly zyprexa 4 years for PTSD didn't do me any good made me gain weight and gave me diabetes.The zyprexa cost $250.00 a month all during that time too.
Zyprexa has been linked to causing diabetes and pancreatitis.
Did you know that Lilly made nearly $3 billion last year on diabetic meds, Actos,Humulin and Byetta?
Yes! They sell a drug that causes diabetes and then turn a profit on the drugs that treat the condition that they caused in the first place!
I was prescribed Zyprexa from 1996 until 2000.
In early 2000 i was shocked to have an A1C test result of 13.9 (normal is 4-6) I have no history of diabetes in my family.
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Daniel Haszard
by
Danny Haszard (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 52 comments)
on Friday, February 2, 2007 at 2:23:35 AM
