AstraZeneca - Seroquel: the MDL players

This Multi-District Litigation consolidates a number of pending actions against UK-based AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The plaintiffs allege that AstraZeneca failed to test and to warn users of the drug's alleged harmful side effects, including the risk of diabetes and related medical complications.

The company has been sued in U.S. courts by thousands of individuals who allege that the growth in sales of Seroquel, from $66 million in 1998 to $2.75 billion in 2005, was spurred by "AstraZeneca's aggressive marketing of Seroquel," which "consisted chiefly of overstating the drug's uses and benefits (including massive off-label promotion), while understating and consciously concealing its life-threatening side effects."

The following are the names and job titles of the people giving the depositions from which the documents come:

• Tony Zook - President and CEO of AstraZeneca US (2006 to present); Senior VP, Commercial Operations (2001-2006); VP Marketing & Sales (1997-2001)


• Jack Schwartz - Executive Director, Seroquel Development


• Athena Ruhl - Seroquel Senior Product Manager


• Michael Reinstein - Key Opinion Leader


• Claudia Piano - Parexel


• Charles Peipher - Marketing


• Alfred Paulson - Sales


• Henry Nasrallah - Key Opinion Leader


• Jamie Mullen - Senior Director, Clinical Research


• Kevin McKenna - VP, Regulatory Affairs, Neuroscience Therapeutic Area


• Wayne Macfadden - Former Director Clinical Research and U.S. Physician for Seroquel


• Gerald Limp - U.S. Regulatory Affairs (Deceased)


• Marianne Jackson - National Sales Director


• Jeffrey Goldstein - Former Director of Clinical Science


• Wayne Geller - Former Global Drug Safety Physician (GDSP) for Seroquel


• Susanne Fors - Global Regulatory Affairs Director


• Vikram Dev - VP of U.S. Drug Safety


• David Brennan - Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Senior Executive Team (SET)


• Martin Brecher - Former Medical Science Director


• Geoffrey Birkett - Former Vice-President Global Marketing


• Donald Beamish - Commercial Brand Executive Director


• Barry Arnold - EU Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance (January 2006 to present); VP Clinical Drug Safety (July 1999 - May 2006)

See all documents related to the Seroquel Products Liability Litigation.

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