One down, 25,999 to go. Following allegations about the mendacious marketing of Seroquel (quetiapine) discussed in BBC Radio’s File on 4 programme, AstraZeneca has won the first of 26,000 lawsuits alleging that the drug was responsible for causing weight gain and diabetes.
The case was brought by Ted Baker, a 61-year-old Vietnam veteran who developed diabetes after taking Seroquel for three years for PTSD and depression (an unusual indication). The jury found in favour of AstraZeneca determining that the company provided adequate warning for prescribing doctors about the risk of diabetes.
A spokesman for AstraZeneca was more forthright in an email: “The heart of these cases are unproven claims that Seroquel causes diabetes. In case after case, jurors, judges and even plaintiffs’ lawyers themselves have found that plaintiffs simply cannot show through any accepted scientific method that AstraZeneca is responsible for their alleged injuries.” Actually, as the jury found that AZ gave adequate warning the question of Seroquel’s association with diabetes was not considered.
Reassured? Well take a look at this timeline of AZ memos, courtesy of BNET UK
