AstraZeneca, the U.K.'s second- largest drugmaker, has been sued by almost 10,000 people in the U.S. over claimed injuries from defects in the company's antipsychotic drug Seroquel, according to a court filing.
Patients claim in their complaints that AstraZeneca didn't adequately warn of possible side effects, including severe weight gain and risk of diabetes. Many of the suits contend the London- based company and its affiliates promoted the drug for unapproved uses, contrary to U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.
The lawsuits are similar to claims filed over injuries from the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa against Eli Lilly & Co., which has settled more than 28,000 cases for as much as $1.2 billion. The Lilly settlements may have set off many of the Seroquel lawsuits, said law professor Howard Erichson.
Lawyers representing Seroquel users have agreed to limit the claims filed to people who said they developed serious health problems after taking the drug, said attorney Paul Pennock, lead plaintiffs' counsel in the multi-district litigation.
``Everybody involved took a blood oath that we were only going to pursue cases where there was a real injury, like pancreatitis, diabetes or severe exacerbation of existing diabetes,'' said Pennock of Weitz & Luxenberg in New York. ``This was as opposed to the Zyprexa litigation where a lot of people took on all comers,'' he said.
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