Weitz and Luxenberg Commends Black Box Warning on Zyprexa

NEW YORK, April 16, 2005 – Manhattan personal injury law firm Weitz and Luxenberg supports the Food and Drug Administration’s April 11, 2005 decision to request manufactures of atypical antipsychotic drugs such as Zyprexa to include a new boxed warning on their labels.
According to FDA Talk Paper T05-13, made public on April 11, 2005, the FDA is requesting that a black box warning be placed on Zyprexa and similar drugs. The warning will indicate that while these drugs are approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and mania, clinical studies of these drugs to treat behavioral disorders in elderly patients with dementia have shown a higher death rate associated with their use compared to patients receiving a placebo. In analyses of seventeen placebo-controlled studies of four drugs in this class, the rate of death for those elderly patients with dementia was about 1.6 to 1.7 times that of placebo. Although the causes of death were varied, most seemed to be either heart-related (such as heart failure or sudden death) or from infections (pneumonia).

In addition to the increased death rate among elderly patients with dementia, studies have shown that Zyprexa has caused the onset of diabetes in otherwise healthy individuals. In September of 2003, the FDA requested that Zyprexa's labeling feature a warning about the increased risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes.

The FDA’s request for new label warning will alert many Zyprexa users and family members of users to the dangers of this drug, and Weitz and Luxenberg anticipates an increase to their already established Zyprexa client base. Weitz and Luxenberg has been handling Zyprexa cases since September, 2003 and has the experience and resources to guide Zyprexa users to their best course of legal action. Users of the drug are encouraged to contact Weitz and Luxenberg’s dedicated team of lawyers and client relations specialists, and visit Weitz and Luxenberg’s corporate website, http://www.weitzlux.com, to access the firm’s extensive Zyprexa resource center.

Personal injury law firms such as Weitz & Luxenberg are concentrating on the most serious Zyprexa related injuries, paying particular attention to the dosage and frequency with which the drugs were taken when evaluating potential lawsuits.

People who have been injured by Zyprexa can contact Weitz & Luxenberg. Interested parties should call the Client Relations Department at 1 (800) 476-6070, email clientrelations@weitzlux.com, and view the firm's website at http://www.weitzlux.com.

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Contact:

David Kufeld, Director of Marketing
Weitz & Luxenberg, PC
180 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
(212) 558-5682 - phone
(212) 558-5692 - fax
dkufeld@weitzlux.com