A former Eli Lilly sales rep filed a lawsuit alleging that she was fired after complaining the company was promoting its Mounjaro diabetes drug to combat weight loss before receiving regulatory approval to do so.
Jennifer Mansion, who was hired as a senior territory manager in Dallas four years ago, claimed that she observed other Lilly sales reps promoting the diabetes drug as a salve for obesity. Mansion also contended that a physician touted Mounjaro as a weight-loss option during a luncheon sponsored by the drugmaker, according to the suit filed in federal court in Texas.
Such promotions are known as off-label marketing in the pharmaceutical industry. The phrase refers to promoting a medicine for a usage that was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A physician may prescribe a medicine for an unapproved use, but a drugmaker is not permitted to market its drug for that purpose.
