Woman gets unsolicited Prozac in mail

Unknown how many others received medicine; lawsuit filed

Thursday, July 4, 2002

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- A Florida woman opened her mailbox last month to find a free box of once-a-week Prozac from her pharmacy chain -- astonishing, she says, because she didn't use Prozac and hadn't asked her doctor to switch her from another anti-depressant to it.

It's not clear how many other patients received unsolicited Prozac -- the woman's attorneys say they know of two more so far -- or if the apparent campaign to sign up new Prozac customers extended beyond south Florida.

Prozac maker Eli Lilly & Co. issued an apology for the incident late yesterday and said it was inappropriate to mail medicine to patients without their request.

"To the extent Lilly personnel may have participated in this program, Lilly apologizes to those patients affected by it," spokeswoman Debbie Davis said. "We are investigating this matter vigorously and if company policies were violated, Lilly will take appropriate action."

The Food and Drug Administration is watching closely.

The Prozac mailings may mark the first time a powerful prescription drug was sent to patients neither expecting nor wanting new pills -- an apparent twist on marketing campaigns to persuade patients to switch medications.

Drug safety expert Michael Cohen of the non-profit Institute for Safe Medication Practices called the mailings dangerous. "You might have (people) other than the patient picking it up out of the mailbox and taking it," he said. "It could be a child."

The big question: Is mailing patients unsolicited prescription drugs, as if they were detergent samples, legal?

Laws governing prescription-writing and pharmacy practices vary by state.

The drugstore chain Walgreens maintains it properly filled prescriptions from doctors' offices and mailed them for free because it had "coupons" from Lilly to provide reimbursement. The Florida woman's doctors aren't talking.

The Broward County, Fla., woman, identified in court documents only as S.K., this week sued her doctors, Walgreens and Lilly, charging invasion of privacy and improper medical practice.

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