I've calmed down a bit from intensity attack after hearing the news that BRAD had fallen into some doo doo. Not surprising, but no surprise as this crook gets his fingers in many pies, not "just" into scrapes over rendition.
Looks good on Brad to see egg all over his face.
I've been a public ranter about Eli Lilly for a long time; IN FACT I brought up the moral depravity of the lawyer who would see that c-r-a-p-p-y poison.
There's quite a the dossiers on Brad Berenson on this blog which you can see here and some "fresh reminders about zyprexa can be seen HERE.
ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION
Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability
http://www.ahrp.org <http://www.ahrp.org/> and
http://ahrp.blogspot.com
FYI
What's in a Name? Alex Berenson / Bradford Berenson?
New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, it turns out, scored a heck of a Page One scoop last week when he revealed that Eli Lilly was engaged in secret settlement talks looking to reach a settlement with federal prosecutors over the company's alleged criminal and civil marketing violations involving its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa. A staggering settlement figure of $1 billion or more was mentioned. http://ahrp.blogspot.com/2008
It turns out that a secret memo from a lawyer at Pepper Hamilton (one of
Lilly's outside law firms) meant for a co-counsel, named Bradford Berenson,
at Sidley Ausin ( another law firm hired by Lilly) landed in the in-box of
Times reporter, Alex Berenson.
As Ed Silverman of Phamalot notes (below), "it's great luck for Berenson -
the reporter, that is - because he got a scoop (which amounts to a poke in
the eye for Lilly, since he's the same reporter who was leaked sealed court documents last year and called 'reprehensible' by a federal judge)."
In Dec. 2006, Alex Berenson brought to public light the content of Lilly's
court sealed Zyprexa documents that had been leaked by Dr. David Egelman, an expert retained by Pepper Hamilton.
http://ahrp.blogspot.com/2006
First to report the $1 Billion Mailstrom was Portfolio (below)
"When the New York Times broke the story last week that Eli Lilly & Co. was
in confidential settlement talks with the government, angry calls flew
behind the scenes as the drug giant's executives accused federal officials
of leaking the information.
With the negotiations over alleged marketing improprieties reaching a
mind-boggling sum of $1 billion, Eli Lilly had every reason to want to keep
the talks under wraps. It was paying the two fancy law firms a small fortune to negotiate deftly and quietly."
sadly, no confidential emails with further scoops were received in error....
but then who knows what tomorrow brings...
Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
verac...@ahrp.org
212-595-8974
http://www.portfolio.com/news
ew-York-Times
Lilly's $1 Billion E-Mailstrom
by Katherine Eban Feb 5 2008
A secret memo meant for a colleague lands in a Times reporter's in-box.
When the New York Times broke the story last week that Eli Lilly & Co. was
in confidential settlement talks with the government, angry calls flew
behind the scenes as the drug giant's executives accused federal officials
of leaking the information.
As the company's lawyers began turning over rocks closer to home, however,
they discovered what could be called A Nightmare on Email Street, a
pharmaceutical consultant told Portfolio.com. One of its outside lawyers at
Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton had mistakenly emailed confidential
information on the talks to Times reporter Alex Berenson instead of Bradford Berenson, her co-counsel at Sidley Austin.
With the negotiations over alleged marketing improprieties reaching a
mind-boggling sum of $1 billion, Eli Lilly had every reason to want to keep
the talks under wraps. It was paying the two fancy law firms a small fortune to negotiate deftly and quietly.
If and when it did settle the allegations that it had improperly marketed
its most profitable drug, Zyprexa, for schizophrenia, it would certainly
want to announce the news on terms carefully negotiated with the government.
"We usually try to brace for that [kind of] story,"
a Lilly staffer said.
So when the Times' Berenson began calling around for comment, and seemed to
possess remarkably detailed inside information about the negotiations, Lilly executives were certain the source of the leak was the government.
As it turned out, one of Eli Lilly's lawyers at Pepper Hamilton in
Philadelphia wanted to email Sidley Austin's Berenson, about the
negotiations. But apparently, the name that popped up from her email
correspondents was the wrong Berenson.
Alex Berenson logged on to find an internal "very comprehensive document"
about the negotiations, the consultant said, and on January 30, Berenson's
article, "Lilly in Settlement Talks With U.S." appeared on the Times'
website. A similar article followed the next day on the front page of the
New York Times.
Those who knew the real story must have had a chuckle-or shed some
tears-over Lilly's statement to the Times that it had "no intention of sharing those discussions [with the government] with the news media and it would be speculative and irresponsible for anyone to do so."
When reached for comment, Alex Berenson told Portfolio.com, "I can't say
anything. I just can't."
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Philadelphia, which is
spearheading the Zyprexa investigation, declined to comment, as did a
spokeswoman for Eli Lilly.
However, the Lilly spokeswoman called back to add that the drugmaker would
continue to retain Pepper Hamilton. Phone calls to Sidley Austin and Pepper
Hamilton were not returned.
And sadly, no confidential emails with further scoops were received in
error.
~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.pharmalot.com/2008
#comments
Pharmalot.com
Lilly Lawyer Accidentally Leaks Settlement Talks
February 5th, 2008
By Ed Silverman
Talk about comical. The news last week that the drugmaker is negotiating
with federal and state prosecutors over improper marketing of Zyprexa was
the result of an accident, according to Portfolio
<http://www.portfolio.com/news
New-York-Times> . But it was a big accident.
As it turns out, a lawyer at Pepper Hamilton, one of two high-priced law
firms negotiating the deal with the government, mistakenly sent an e-mail
containing a comprehensive and confidential document to a reporter at The
New York Times. How could that have happened? The reporter, Alex Berenson,
has the same last name as another lawyer who was supposed to have received
the e-mail, Bradford Berenson
<http://www.sidley.com/ourpeople
Sidley Austin.
Of course, this is embarassing for the law firm, which is being paid
who-knows-how-much to get Lilly the best deal possible, and keep quiet about the details until the package is wrapped and the bow is placed on top. And this is infuriating for Lilly, which wants to carefully manage the message sent to investors, doctors and a slew of others who will hinge on every word concerning any settlement.
But it's great luck for Berenson - the reporter, that is - because he got a
scoop (which amounts to a poke in the eye for Lilly, since he's the same
reporter who was leaked sealed court documents last year and called
'reprehensible' by a federal judge).
Not surprisingly, Lilly assumed the leak came from someone on the government side, Portfolio writes. The US Attorney in Philadelphia, which is leading the talks, declined to comment to the mag, as did Berenson (the reporter).
Lilly would only say Pepper Hamilton is still retained. There was no word on how often the unnamed lawyer who caused this gaffe had communicated
previously with Berenson - the reporter, not the lawyer.
[AboveTheLaw
<http://www.abovethelaw.com
says they're cousins. In any event, correctly identify which Berenson is
which and win a free subscription to Pharmalot. As a personal aside, we look forward to drugmakers hiring attorneys named Silverman.]
Hat tip to Starkman
<http://www.starkmanassociates
n.html> blog
~~~~~~~~~~~
profit.
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