Drug company and pharmacy send unsolicited samples of Prozac to Florida residents

A marketing scheme that involved sending unsolicited fluoxetine (Prozac) in the mail has led to a lawsuit in the US state of Florida against a local hospital, the drug's manufacturer (Eli Lilly), and Walgreen, a major US pharmacy chain.

One of the recipients, a woman named only as SK, is suing for invasion of privacy. Her lawyers accuse the companies of sharing information from confidential medical records and using it to build a mailing list. They also allege that there was no valid prescription. In addition, Florida's attorney general is investigating the case to see if state laws were broken.

Three doctors from the Holy Cross Medical Group in Fort Lauderdale are also named as defendants in the case. Each signed a blank page with their company letterhead, as well as a letter offering patients a month's free supply of Prozac Weekly. The blank page was apparently filled in by sales representatives from Eli Lilly, and the letters were posted with the drug by a Walgreen pharmacy last summer.

“We are very excited to be able to offer you a more convenient way to take your antidepressant medication,” the letter said. “If you wish to try Prozac Weekly, stop your antidepressant one day before starting Prozac Weekly, then take Prozac Weekly once a week thereafter.”

Gary Farmer, SK's lawyer, said it was still unclear how many letters were sent, but the figure is believed to be in the hundreds. Most recipients were patients of doctors from the Holy Cross Medical Group and had taken antidepressants at some point. One was a 16 year old boy who had never had depression and whose parents are planning to sue.

In a statement issued soon after the mailing, Eli Lilly said: “To the extent that Lilly personnel may have participated in this programme, Lilly apologises to those patients affected by it. We are investigating this matter vigorously, and if company policies were violated, Lilly will take appropriate action.”

Later, the company fired three representatives who had organised the scheme. The three have since filed suit for wrongful dismissal, arguing that they were implementing company policy.

Holy Cross Medical Group says it will not comment on matters subject to litigation. A spokesman for Walgreen said the pharmacy had been unaware that the patients were not expecting the samples. He also said there had been legitimate prescriptions: “Not all prescriptions have to be written on standard scrip paper.”

In a court deposition, Dr Lise Lambert, one of the three doctors named as defendants in the case, said she knew of no prescriptions. “I didn't expect any medication to be sent to patients,” she said. “I never authorised it.” She said she had no idea how the mailing list was compiled.

Dr Lambert added that she should have paid more attention to the details of the plan, saying: “I never in my imagination thought it would turn into this.”