DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) trained its sales employees to downplay risks for Zyprexa and encourage doctors to prescribe the drug beyond approved uses for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Bloomberg News reported Thursday on its Web site, citing court documents.

Sales representatives pushed the drug, linked to weight gain and diabetes, to primary-care and nursing-home doctors while ignoring its risks, Bloomberg News said, citing documents filed in a lawsuit by Alaska.

The drugs also were recommended for patients who weren't diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, Bloomberg News reported, citing complaints filed by Montana and Mississippi.

Lilly doesn't engage in improper marketing and hasn't downplayed the risks, spokeswoman Tarra Ryker was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying.

Full story at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid= a3zg322ZNbDw&refer=home

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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  07-31-08 1956ET
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