Eli Lilly and Company: Difference between revisions

In September 2013, Eli Lilly sued [[Canada]] for violating its obligations to foreign investors under the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] by allowing its courts to invalidate patents for [[Atomoxetine|Strattera]] and [[Olanzapine|Zyprexa]]. Canadian courts found [[Atomoxetine|Strattera's]] seven-week long study of twenty-two patients, too short and too narrow in scope to qualify for the patent. The [[Olanzapine|Zyprexa]] patent was invalidated because it had not achieved its promised [[Utility in Canadian patent law|utility]]. The company sought damages in the amount of $500 million for lost profits. They ultimately lost the case in 2017.

{{See also|Raloxifene|label 1=Evista }}

[[Raloxifene|Evista]] is a medication typically used to prevent and treat [[osteoporosis]] in [[Menopause|postmenopausal]] women.

In December 2005, Eli Lilly and Company agreed to plead guilty and pay $36 million in connection with the illegal promotion of the drug. Sales representatives were trained to promote [[Raloxifene|Evista]] for breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, to prompt or bait questions by doctors, and to send them unsolicited letters promoting [[Raloxifene|Evista]] for unapproved use. The company distributed a videotape in which a sales representative declared that "Evista truly is the best drug for the prevention of all these diseases." Some sales representatives had also been instructed to conceal the disclosure page which stated that the effectiveness of the drug in reducing breast cancer risks had not yet been established.

In January 2019, lawmakers from the [[United States House of Representatives]] sent letters to Eli Lilly and other insulin manufacturers asking for explanations for their rapidly raising insulin prices. The annual cost of insulin for people with type 1 diabetes in the U.S. almost doubled from $2,900 to $5,700 over the period from 2012 to 2016.

Renewed attention was brought to Eli Lilly's pricing of insulin on November 10, 2022, after a [[Twitter verification|verified Twitter account]] impersonating Eli Lilly posted on Twitter that insulin would now be free. The following year, the company announced that it would be reducing the out-of-pocket price of insulin to $35 a month. The company also stated that it would lower the price of Humalog from $275 a month to $66 and that it would offer [[insulin glargine]] at a 78% discount compared to rival company [[Sanofi]]. Despite this, the reduced costs will not apply to Eli Lilly's newer brands of insulin, and the company's pricing is still significantly higher than it was several decades prior.