AG's office goes astray

A REASONABLE PERSON might ask what in the world the Alaska attorney general's office is doing by jumping into a lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Co. over the drug Zyprexa.

Alaska is one of several states suing the company over a drug used by schizophrenic patients and sufferers from bipolar disorder. It's not because Zyprexa was dangerous and has been withdrawn from the market. The drug is still a top-selling medicine, has federal approval and is being prescribed by doctors all the time.

The problem is supposedly that Eli Lilly failed to warn patients that Zyprexa can cause weight gain and high blood-sugar levels, both of which contribute to diabetes. The company says it held back nothing and distributes information about the drug all the time.

The AG's office is suing on behalf of Medicaid patients and claims that . . .

(cont'd from front page) some Medicaid patients in Alaska were harmed by the side effects of the drug. Lilly points out that the Alaska continues to reimburse Medicaid patients for Zyprexa purchases and places no restrictions on use of the drug.

From here, it looks like the state is taking an opportunist approach by jumping into a series of trials being pursued by tort lawyers hoping to take millions from the company. The state would get contingency fees, which sometimes are large.

Why the trial attorneys chose Alaska to have their first major showdown is an interesting question. They appear to be looking for a jury inclined to stick it to large companies and — based on the cantankerous nature of the average Alaskan — assuming that one shouldn't be hard to find in Alaska.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal carried an article on the practice of state attorneys general outsourcing legal work to for-profit tort lawyers who then funnel a share of their winnings back to the AGs. The newspaper referred to it as "a sleazy practice."

The trial will give a late-winter boost to Alaska's visitor industry. Lawyers, staffers and witnesses have reportedly taken up two floors in the Captain Cook Hotel, as well as rooms in other parts of the city. The trial is expected to last several weeks.

It's very questionable whether the state of Alaska should get involved in such business. After the juicy settlements in the asbestos and tobacco lawsuits, many tort lawyers are going after the drug companies, which are large and have sizable treasuries.

The state takes ethical positions on many issues, but this may be the exception. Cases like this one would be a good place for Attorney General Talis Colberg to take the high road and get his department moving in a better direction.