Eli Lilly and Co. paid doctors in South Carolina for participating in a speakers program in exchange for prescribing the antipsychotic Zyprexa and used golf bets to get more patients on the drug, according to notes by sales representatives.
The allegations are the latest twist in what has become a spate of state lawsuits against the Indianapolis drug maker over its marketing practices.
During a golf game, one doctor agreed to start new patients on Zyprexa for each time a sales representative parred, or put the ball in a hole within a predetermined number of strokes, according to the notes.