Seroquel Lawsuits
Seroquel is an antipsychotic medication manufactured by AstraZenica. Seroquel is an atypical antipsychotics medication. Approved in 1997 in the United States, Seroquel is for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. But, as AstraZenica knew and promoted, Seroquel was also prescribed off label to treat patients for dementia, autism, and even anxiety and depression. This accounted for much of the $3.4 billion in sales of Seroquel in 2006 alone.
Seroquel may be efficacious in treating these symptoms. But there are increasing reports about the increased risk of diabetes pancreatitis in patients taking Seroquel. The FDA has warned of diabetes risks from Seroquel and the labeling has changed in Seroquel. Still, Seroquel remains on the market. Seroquel is also associated with hyperglycemia, pancreatitis, ketoacidosis, certain cardiac events, and death.
At a hearing before Congress, FDA drug safety expert Dr. David Graham was asked about concerns he may have about drugs still on the market. Dr. Graham testified that “I would pay careful attention to antipsychotic medications. ... The problem with these drugs are that we know that they are being used extensively off-label in nursing homes to sedate elderly patients with dementia and other types of disorders... But the fact is, is that it increases mortality perhaps by 100 percent. It doubles mortality. So I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation on this and you have probably got 15,000 elderly people in nursing homes dying each year from the off-label use of antipsychotic medications.... With every pill that gets dispensed in a nursing home, the drug company is laughing all the way to the bank."
Doubles mortality. That is absolutely incredible.
Seroquel is not the only cause of diabetes, nursing home deaths, and the other problems associated with Seroquel. But our lawyers believe that this drug company knew these risks were associated with Seroquel and did not do enough to warn doctors and patients of the risks of Seroquel.
Accordingly, our lawyers are investigating Seroquel lawsuits on behalf of victims. But if you have diabetes or you or a loved one has suffered injury or death that you think may be attributable to Seroquel, call one of our Seroquel lawyers for a free consultation at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free online consultation.
