Publicity shy?

Lilly's Prozac (fluoxetine) makes the cover of the March 26 issue of Newsweek magazine despite the company's conservative handling of the antidepressant's launch. Lilly has been burned once before with its aggressive launch for Oraflex. The firm says it is aware of recent articles in the lay press on Prozac although "Lilly has not initiated any of them." Lilly says it has a policy of not giving out information to the lay press regarding unapproved uses of a drug, although the company will discuss a drug's mechanism of action, its approved uses and what additional indications are under investigation. When contacted by Newsweek, that was the only type of information supplied, the firm said.