Seroquel maker denies hiding side effects

ORLANDO, Fla., March 1 (UPI) -- British drug maker AstraZeneca denies it tried to downplay side effects of its psychiatric drug Seroquel and market it as if there were no health risks.

Lawyers suing AstraZeneca allege the company knew about the risk of weight gain and diabetes in 2000 yet failed to warn doctors and patients, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

In documents unsealed last week, a 1997 e-mail message from Richard Lawrence, an AstraZeneca official, praised Lisa Arventis, the Seroquel project physician at the time, for minimizing adverse findings in a "cursed" study. "Lisa has done a great 'smoke-and-mirrors job," Lawrence wrote.

An estimated 15,000 former users of Seroquel are suing AstraZeneca, which last month convinced a federal court judge in Orlando, Fla., to dismiss the first two cases for lack of evidence. Lawyers in those cases said they may appeal.

AstraZeneca officials said they fully informed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of all relevant data and side effects regarding Seroquel, which is used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.