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Waxman requests marketing info from Lilly, AstraZeneca, others

Pharma Compliance Alert, March 7, 2007

Safety concerns and allegations of inappropriate marketing are the focus of letters that Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent to several pharmaceutical and medical device companies last week. Waxman, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, requested information from Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Cephalon, Boston Scientific, and Cordis Corporation about their research and marketing. The requests are part of the committee's oversight of the industry's marketing practices, according to the Web site.

Waxman sent letters to Eli Lilly seeking information about Zyprexa, to AstraZeneca for information about Seroquel, and to Cephalon for information about Actiq and Fentora. Waxman also sent similar letters to device manufacturers Boston Scientific and Cordis Corporation about their drug-eluting stents.

A federal judge recently ruled that marketing documents about Zyprexa should be returned to the company because they were illegally leaked to The New York Times, however, Waxman's letter regarding Zyprexa still cites The Times articles, which alleged that Lilly "misled physicians and inappropriately promoted off-label uses" of the drug. The letter requests information about clinical trials, FDA advisory committees, internal and external materials relating to marketing and off-label uses, and other documents.

To read the letters, go to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Web site.

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