Zyprexa info legal battle
Jan. 10th, 2007 12:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moominmuppetThis one's rather near and dear to my heart, since Mom has diabetes as a result of Zyprexa. Attempts to block access to information piss me off in almost any case, but particularly in this one. Besides, EFF's a good organization doing good work, and I'm happy to publicize that.
From the EFF newsletter:
For more information on EFF activities & alerts:
http://www.eff.org/
Make a donation and become an EFF member today!
http://secure.eff.org/support
effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired
change.
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* EFF Defends Right to Link from Wiki
Legal Battle Over Controversial Prescription Drug Zyprexa
San Francisco - Last week, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation defended the First Amendment rights of a
citizen-journalist to link from a public "wiki" to
electronic copies of damaging internal Eli Lilly documents
relating to the controversial prescription drug Zyprexa.
At the hearing, federal district Judge Jack B. Weinstein
refused to change his order blocking publication of
material that would "facilitate dissemination" of the Lilly
documents. A further hearing on the issue is set for
Tuesday, January 16.
EFF's client, an anonymous citizen-journalist, posted the
links on the wiki located at http://zyprexa.pbwiki.com .
Eli Lilly complained, and Judge Weinstein issued his order
on January 4. EFF went to court to challenge this order as
an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech in
violation of the First Amendment and to ensure that the
right of nonparties in the litigation to link to publicly
important information remains protected.
"Preventing a citizen-journalist from posting links to
important health information on a public wiki violates the
First Amendment," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von
Lohmann. "Eli Lilly's efforts to censor these documents off
the Internet are particularly outrageous in light of the
information reported by The New York Times, which suggests
that doctors and patients who use Zyprexa need to know the
information contained in those documents."
According to The New York Times reports, the Eli Lilly
documents show that the company intentionally downplayed
the drug's side effects, including weight gain, high blood
sugar, and diabetes, and marketed the drug for "off-label"
uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). The documents were leaked from the ongoing Zyprexa
products liability lawsuit, where Weinstein is the
presiding judge.
Copies of the leaked Eli Lilly documents have appeared on a
variety of websites and other Internet sources. The links
to the documents that were posted on the wiki at
http://zyprexa.pbwiki.com/ were part of extensive, in-
depth analysis from a number of citizen journalists. A wiki
is a website that allows many users to collaborate on its
content, creating a kind of simple database for collecting
information -- in this case, about the controversy
surrounding Zyprexa.
Zyprexa is Eli Lilly's best selling drug, used to treat
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Last week, Eli Lilly
agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle claims relating
to Zyprexa. This latest settlement brings the total paid by
Eli Lilly to resolve lawsuits involving Zyprexa to more
than $1.2 billion.
For the full motion filed in the Zyprexa products liability
litigation:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/zyprexa/zyprexa_motion.pdf
For the court's order of January 4:
http://eff.org/legal/cases/zyprexa/jan4_order.pdf
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_01.php#005058
From the EFF newsletter:
For more information on EFF activities & alerts:
http://www.eff.org/
Make a donation and become an EFF member today!
http://secure.eff.org/support
effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired
change.
: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :
* EFF Defends Right to Link from Wiki
Legal Battle Over Controversial Prescription Drug Zyprexa
San Francisco - Last week, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation defended the First Amendment rights of a
citizen-journalist to link from a public "wiki" to
electronic copies of damaging internal Eli Lilly documents
relating to the controversial prescription drug Zyprexa.
At the hearing, federal district Judge Jack B. Weinstein
refused to change his order blocking publication of
material that would "facilitate dissemination" of the Lilly
documents. A further hearing on the issue is set for
Tuesday, January 16.
EFF's client, an anonymous citizen-journalist, posted the
links on the wiki located at http://zyprexa.pbwiki.com .
Eli Lilly complained, and Judge Weinstein issued his order
on January 4. EFF went to court to challenge this order as
an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech in
violation of the First Amendment and to ensure that the
right of nonparties in the litigation to link to publicly
important information remains protected.
"Preventing a citizen-journalist from posting links to
important health information on a public wiki violates the
First Amendment," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von
Lohmann. "Eli Lilly's efforts to censor these documents off
the Internet are particularly outrageous in light of the
information reported by The New York Times, which suggests
that doctors and patients who use Zyprexa need to know the
information contained in those documents."
According to The New York Times reports, the Eli Lilly
documents show that the company intentionally downplayed
the drug's side effects, including weight gain, high blood
sugar, and diabetes, and marketed the drug for "off-label"
uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). The documents were leaked from the ongoing Zyprexa
products liability lawsuit, where Weinstein is the
presiding judge.
Copies of the leaked Eli Lilly documents have appeared on a
variety of websites and other Internet sources. The links
to the documents that were posted on the wiki at
http://zyprexa.pbwiki.com/ were part of extensive, in-
depth analysis from a number of citizen journalists. A wiki
is a website that allows many users to collaborate on its
content, creating a kind of simple database for collecting
information -- in this case, about the controversy
surrounding Zyprexa.
Zyprexa is Eli Lilly's best selling drug, used to treat
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Last week, Eli Lilly
agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle claims relating
to Zyprexa. This latest settlement brings the total paid by
Eli Lilly to resolve lawsuits involving Zyprexa to more
than $1.2 billion.
For the full motion filed in the Zyprexa products liability
litigation:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/zyprexa/zyprexa_motion.pdf
For the court's order of January 4:
http://eff.org/legal/cases/zyprexa/jan4_order.pdf
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_01.php#005058
