Two patients die after being injected with Eli Lilly's schizophrenia drug

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: schizophrenia drug, Eli Lilly, Zyprexa Relprevv

(NaturalNews) A popular injection-based drug for schizophrenia is under investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following the recent deaths of two patients who were given the jab for their mental conditions. Reuters reports that extremely high levels of Eli Lilly and Co.'s Zyprexa Relprevv, a spinoff of the multi-billion dollar, oral-based Zyprexa drug, were found circulating in the patients' bloodstreams, which points to the drug as the direct cause of the deaths.

The FDA already recognizes that Zyprexa Relprevv can cause a condition known as post-injection delirium sedation syndrome, or PDSS, which involves too much of the active drug compound entering a patient's bloodstream at once. Patients who develop PDSS following injection with Zyprexa Relprevv can end up suffering from more serious health conditions like cardiopulmonary arrest, heart rhythm problems, sedation, dementia, and even prolonged coma.

But these deadly side effects are apparently not that big of a deal to the FDA, which has continued to support the "safe" use of Zyprexa Relprevv for schizophrenia patients despite dozens of similar deaths caused by the drug in recent years. At least 82 patients have died after being jabbed with Zyprexa Relprevv in the past, but these latest deaths finally got the attention of the FDA due to their undeniable correlation with high circulating levels of the antipsychotic drug in the victims' bloodstreams.

"These deaths are unique because we have postmortem blood levels (of the drug) that were very high," FDA spokeswoman Sandy Walsh is quoted as saying by Reuters.

According to the FDA, both of the victims reportedly received "appropriate doses" of Zyprexa Relprevv prior to their deaths, which occurred three or four days after receiving the drug. And yet Eli Lilly spokeswoman Morry Smulevitz is quoted by numerous sources as defending the supposed "safety" of the drug, referring to it as being "absolutely necessary" for mental patients.

Though not nearly as highly profiting as the original Zyprexa formula, Zyprexa Relprevv saw global sales that nearly eclipsed $60 million in 2012. According to FDA drug data, roughly 45,000 people have taken the injection worldwide since it received FDA approval in 2009. To this day, the original Zyprexa drug has been Eli Lilly's top selling drug, once topping $5 billion in annual revenues before cheaper generics eventually hit the market.

If Zyprexa Relprevv had been raw milk, FDA would have immediately pulled it from the market

Despite all the "unknowns" surrounding these latest two deaths from Zyprexa Relprevv, it is clear to any rational thinking person that, based on the evidence, the drug was directly responsible. And yet the FDA is once again coalescing the drug industry by "investigating" the situation without consequence rather than immediately pulling the drug from the market until the investigation is complete.

This is typical behavior for the FDA when it comes to drugs - approve the drugs now, ask questions later. But if Zyprexa Relprevv had been raw milk in this case, you can be sure the agency would have immediately raised hell and tried to ban all production, sale, trade, etc. of raw milk across America. This is the pathetic double standard that exists at the FDA today, and is the primary reason why the corrupt agency needs to be either systematically reformed or completely deconstructed for the safety of the American people.

"[T]he FDA has essentially become a hired gun for the pharmaceutical industry," explains the health freedom advocacy group Alliance for Natural Health - USA (ANH-USA), which is calling for complete FDA reform.

You can learn more about the many facets of FDA corruption, as well as sign a petition calling for complete FDA reform, by visiting:
http://www.anh-usa.org/reform-fda/

Sources for this article include:

http://www.reuters.com

http://www.boston.com

http://www.zyprexa-victims.com/

http://hartkeisonline.com

http://www.anh-usa.org/reform-fda/