Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2702
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: news
Eli Lilly donation proposal sought loosened restrictions
Associated Press ( on Macon.com ) 2005 Oct 20
http://web.archive.org/web/20051020135806/http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/local/12949375.htm
Keywords:
Eli Lilly Georgia Medicaid
Notes:
Ralph Faggotter’s Comments:
There’s an old-fashioned phrase for this kind of “benevolent offer” and it’s called “attempting to bribe government officials”.
In this case the potential donor and recipients were caught out before a deal could be struck, but one wonders how often this goes on behind the scenes?
How many government decisions, how many expert panels, how many patient advocacy groups are influenced by this kind of “benevolent offer” from the pharmaceutical industry?
We will never know.
Full text:
Posted on Thu, Oct. 20, 2005
Eli Lilly donation proposal sought loosened restrictions
Associated Press
ATLANTA – Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. proposed giving up to $5 million to Georgia’s Medicaid program if the state lifted restrictions on four of the company’s drugs.
The offer was described in documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Indianapolis-based company’s proposal contradicts past statements by aides to Gov. Sonny Perdue, who said the donation came with no strings attached.
The money, described as a “benevolent offer” by a Perdue spokesman, would help pay the costs of developing the governor’s Medicaid reform proposal, state officials said.
But government e-mails show that state officials had discussed a deal with Eli Lilly. Eli Lilly’s offer also caused dissent in the state’s Medicaid agency.
An Aug. 10 e-mail from the state official who runs Medicaid’s drug program, Jerry Dubberly, to a person outside state government said, “Lilly’s trying to buy their way on (the preferred-drug list) again.”
A state agency report also raised concerns about Eli Lilly’s drugs, questioning either their safety, effectiveness or cost.
The four drugs in question are: Zyprexa, which is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; Symbyax, a drug for bipolar depression; Cymbalta, an antidepressant; and Strattera, a drug for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
A draft proposal to Medicaid presented an offer of Eli Lilly giving money for two medical care programs. And “in return, Georgia Medicaid shall ensure that Zyprexa, Symbyax, Strattera and Cymbalta … are accorded open and unrestricted access” and are included on Medicaid’s preferred-drug list, the proposal stated.
The preferred-drug list is a roster of medications that may be prescribed for Medicaid patients without state restrictions.
Eli Lilly spokeswoman Carole Puls said Wednesday that the company did seek to lift the restrictions on its drugs. But Puls said that after an article about the offer appeared in The Atlanta-Journal Constitution in Aug. 21, state officials said they were not interested in removing the restrictions.
Three other Lilly proposals, dating back to June and perhaps earlier, also had strings attached, according to Puls.
Tim Burgess, commissioner of the Department of Community Health, which oversees Medicaid, said Wednesday that the agency “gets unsolicited proposals all the time.”
“We weren’t going to do it, and we didn’t do it,” he said of Eli Lilly’s offer.
Washington-based consumer group Families USA said it was not surprised to hear the proposals included lifting restrictions on Eli Lilly drugs.
“When we first heard about the arrangement, we questioned whether there was a quid pro quo,” said Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy for the group.” It underscores why these type of arrangements are dangerous.”
Eli Lilly said Wednesday it still has a pending offer to Georgia’s Medicaid program. But the company said the current proposal has no ties to drug access and the amount of funding has not been decided.
