Record-setting Settlement Says AstraZeneca Lied About Seroquel Effects

AstraZeneca agreed to pay $3.1 million to settle a New York State Attorney General's lawsuit saying the British pharmaceutical company improperly promoted and marketed the schizophrenia drug Seroquel, concealing dangerous side effects such as diabetes from health care providers and the public.

New York's agreement is part of the largest consumer-protection settlement in history with a pharmaceutical company, including 37 states for a total of $68.5 million, state officials said. AstraZeneca marketed Seroquel's use "off-label," which means outside government-approved guidelines for what the drug is intended to treat. Introduced in the 1990s, Seroquel was thought then to produce fewer harmful side effects than existing drugs for treating schizophrenia in the long-term.