New ATLA Litigation Group takes on Zyprexa.A Zyprexa Litigation Group was certified in February at ATLA's 2005 Winter Convention in Palm Springs, California Palm Springs is a famed Riverside County, California desert resort city, approximately 110 miles (177 km) east of Los Angeles and 140 miles (225 km) northeast of San Diego. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 42,807. , to provide assistance to members litigating claims related to the drug. Zyprexa (olanzapine)--a second-generation antipsychotic (SGA SGA abbr. small for gestational age Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) A term used to describe newborns who are below the 10th percentile in height or weight for their estimated gestational age. ) drug approved by the FDA to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but used "off-label" for a host of other conditions--has been linked to metabolic disorders including diabetes, pancreatitis, and metabolic syndrome, as well as other serious side effects and death. Manufacturer Eli Lilly and Co. admits that at least 40 percent of Zyprexa sold is prescribed off-label. Since its FDA approval in 1996, Zyprexa has been prescribed to more than 16 million people worldwide. Although SGAs were developed to have fewer and less severe side effects than first-generation antipsychotic drugs, patients taking Zyprexa are being diagnosed with serious metabolic diseases significantly more often than people taking comparable drugs. In February 2004, the American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association, or the ADA, is an American health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association conducts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reaching hundreds of , the American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential world-wide. Its some 148,000 members are mainly American but some are international. , the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, published a consensus statement in Diabetes Care that noted the increased risk for metabolic diseases (for example, diabetes) in patients treated with Zyprexa. Published documents make it clear that Lilly was aware of these problems with its drug. The litigation group will provide education and support to members and act as an information clearinghouse with a document library and list server. The first meeting will be held during the 2005 Annual Convention in Toronto in July. The group is jointly chaired (on an interim basis until elections are held) by Ramon Rossi Lopez of Newport Beach, California Newport Harbor redirects here. For the MTV reality series, see . Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, 10 miles south of downtown Santa Ana. ; Michael Burg of Englewood, Colorado; Jerrold Parker of Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a village in Nassau County, New York, in the U.S., on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 9,538. The Village of Great Neck is in the Town of North Hempstead. ; and Michael London of New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , who is the federal-state liaison. For more information, contact Lopez at (949) 640-8222, Burg at (303) 792-5595, or Parker at (516) 466-6500. |
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