A newly published article suggests that drug-maker AstraZeneca was not exactly forthcoming about its antipsychotic drug Seroquel, which many patients claim causes diabetes.
Specifically, a company spokeswoman told a doctor here in the U.S. that the drug didn’t cause diabetes even though the company warned Japanese doctors four years earlier about the link to the disease, according to a recent Bloomberg report. In the 2002 note to the doctors, the company noted the link between the drug and diabetes could not be ruled out.
The drug is big business for AstraZeneca, generating $4.45 billion in sales last year. It is the company’s second biggest seller. However, more than 15,000 people have sued the company, claiming it withheld vital information and marketed the drug for unapproved uses. Lawyers claim that the company downplayed the link to protect the drug’s massive sales figures.
AstraZeneca says the cases are unfounded and that the drug cannot be linked to the plaintiffs “alleged injuries.”
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[...] AstraZeneca’s Antipsychotic Drug May Cause Diabetes, Sept. 23, [...]