HARTFORD, Conn., April 9, 2007 LAWFUEL – Class Actions News — The law firm of
Schatz Nobel Izard, P.C., which has significant experience representing
investors in prosecuting claims of securities fraud, announces that a
lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of all
persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the publicly traded
securities of Eli Lilly and Company (“Lilly” or the “Company”)
(NYSE:LLY) between March 28, 2002 and December 22, 2006, inclusive,
(the “Class Period”). Also included are those who acquired shares in
Lilly’s acquisition of Applied Molecular Evolution.
The Complaint alleges that Lilly and certain of its officers and
directors violated Federal Securities laws by making misleading
statements about Zyprexa, a drug it produces and markets for the
treatment for schizophrenia. Specifically, at the beginning of the
Class Period, defendants contended that Zyprexa did not cause
diabetes-related side effects. Once the publicly available clinical
data rendered this position untenable, defendants argued instead that
Zyprexa did not cause more side effects than its competitors.
Eventually, additional clinical data showed that, in fact, Zyprexa does
cause such side effects and to a greater extent than its competitors.
These revelations sharply curtailed the sales growth of Zyprexa and
resulted in thousands of product liability lawsuits against Lilly and
hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. It has recently come to
light that defendants intentionally suppressed and misrepresented data
showing that Zyprexa causes weight gain, high blood sugar, and diabetes
in a series of articles in The New York Times which excerpted internal
Lilly documents detailing defendants’ deception. The documents show
that defendants intentionally misrepresented the side effects of
Zyprexa. In the five trading days during which the series of articles
was published, the price of Lilly’s stock declined almost 6%.
If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than June 1, 2007,
request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class. A
lead plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other class
members in directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in
any recovery is not affected by the decision whether or not to seek
appointment as a lead plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important
decisions which could affect the overall recovery for class members,
including decisions concerning settlement. The securities laws require
the Court to consider the class member(s) with the largest financial
interest as presumptively the most adequate lead plaintiff(s).
While Schatz Nobel Izard, P.C. has not filed a lawsuit against the
defendants, to view a copy of the Complaint initiating the class action
or for more information about the case, class action cases in general,
and your rights, please contact Schatz Nobel Izard, P.C. toll-free at
(800) 797-5499, or by e-mail at firm@snlaw.net, or visit our website:
www.snilaw.com.
