Pharmaceutical company pays large settlement over Seroquel side effects

Washington, D.C.Britain-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has reached settlements on two whistle-blower lawsuits and two federal investigations of the Seroquel side effects.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">The $520 million settlements are largely related to off-label marketing of the drug, which touted medicinal applications of Seroquel that the FDA had not approved the antipsychotic for.

The medication - which the FDA approved for the treatment of acute schizophrenia, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and maniacal episodes related to bipolar disorder - is required to include black box warnings of potential side effects including an increased risk of diabetes, hyperglycemia, and tardive dyskinesia.

Several FDA studies have amplified these allegations, with one claiming that users of the medication are 3.34 times more likely to contract diabetes than users of older antipsychotic drugs.

According to the New York Times, AstraZeneca is reporting that they have been served with 14,444 civil lawsuits related to Seroquel side effects to date. IMS Health claims that the drug has $17 billion in sales in the U.S. since 2004.