Seroquel & Anti-Psychotics Use Up for Teens, Aged
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Bloomberg News has compiled data showing that a surge in prescriptions for Seroquel and other anti-psychotic drugs in its class are being promoted by drugmakers for use by teenagers and the elderly.
Doctors are prescribing these drugs to treat mental-health issues and Alzheimer's disease, even though those are considered off-label use. Legally doctors, desperate for solutions to these ills, can prescribe off-label but manufacturers cannot market anti-psychotics for uses not approved by the FDA.
California's Democratic Representative Henry Waxman wants to probe whether drug makers are pushing the drugs for unapproved use that's increased profits by 20% last year.
The treatments, including AstraZeneca's Seroquel and Eli Lilly & Co.'s Zyprexa, generated $14.7 billion in sales in 2006, 20 percent more than the previous year, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.
And there is growing evidence the side effects of these drugs for the elderly far outweigh the benefits. According to the FDA, nursing homes administering Zyprexa for aggression had twice the death rate for patients than those not given the drug.
It's estimated that half of Seroquel's prescriptions in 2006 were for off-label use pushing sales up 24% to $3.4 billion.
States have filed numerous challenges trying to recoup the costs of these prescriptions alleging drugmakers failed to disclose side effects risks for unapproved use.
Indianapolis-based Lilly has been sued by six states -- Louisiana, West Virginia, Alaska, Mississippi, New Mexico and Pennsylvania -- on behalf of Medicaid programs, seeking reimbursement of money spent on Zyprexa. Louisiana has also sued Johns & Johnson over Risperdal, and last week Pennsylvania filed suit against Lilly, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson over these drugs.