How Big Pharma Lied About Atypical (New) Antipsychotics

Let me be blunt: Big Pharma sold us a lie.

They promised a new generation of antipsychotics that were safer and more effective. In reality, they rigged the studies, hid the risks, and made billions — while millions of patients paid the price.

Here’s what really happened.

The Big Promise

In the 1990s, drug companies launched new drugs like Risperdal (risperidone), Zyprexa (olanzapine), Seroquel (quetiapine), and Geodon (ziprasidone). They claimed these “atypical” antipsychotics were:

• More effective, especially for difficult symptoms like emotional flatness or poor thinking

• Safer, with fewer side effects like tremors or muscle stiffness

It sounded like progress. It wasn’t.The rise of atypicals was driven more by marketing than science (Healy, 2002).

How They Fooled Us

1. Unfair Studies

Drug companies set up studies to make the old drugs look bad. They compared atypicals to very high doses of haloperidol, which caused more side effects and made the new drugs seem safer by comparison (Geddes et al., 2000).

2. Hiding Bad Results

Negative studies were buried. Positive ones were promoted.This made the new drugs seem more effective than they actually were (Turner et al., 2008).

3. Aggressive Marketing

Pharma companies spent heavily on:

• Sponsored dinners and events

• Paid lectures

• Ghostwritten medical articles

They pushed the message hard: Atypicals are the future.In some cases, they even broke the law to sell more. Johnson & Johnson paid $2.2 billion for illegally promoting Risperdal and hiding risks (United States v. Johnson & Johnson, 2012).

What They Hid

1. Serious Weight Gain & Diabetes

Yes, atypicals caused fewer tremors — but they caused massive weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease instead. Olanzapine (Zyprexa) alone caused up to 10 pounds of weight gain in just 10 weeks (Allison et al., 1999).

2. No Real Benefit

When independent researchers did honest comparisons, the myth fell apart.

Atypicals were no better than the older drug perphenazine (Lieberman et al., 2005).The same result was seen in another large trial — no clear advantage (Jones et al., 2006).

Why? Follow the Money

Old antipsychotics were cheap and generic.Atypicals were expensive and patent-protected.

By the 2000s, global antipsychotic sales hit $15 billion a year.This wasn’t about better care — it was about bigger profits.

The Cost to Patients

• Millions gained 20–50 pounds

• Many developed diabetes and heart disease

• These risks were downplayed or ignored to keep sales booming (Newcomer, 2005)

The Bottom Line

Big Pharma lied. They twisted evidence, bribed doctors, and made billions — while patients got sicker.

This wasn’t an honest mistake.It was a calculated scam, and people suffered for it.

Sources

• Healy D. The Creation of Psychopharmacology, 2002

• Geddes J et al. BMJ, 2000

• Turner EH et al. NEJM, 2008

• Lieberman JA et al. NEJM, 2005 (CATIE Trial)

• Jones PB et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2006 (CUtLASS Trial)

• Allison DB et al. Am J Psychiatry, 1999

• Newcomer JW. CNS Drugs, 2005

• United States v. Johnson & Johnson, 2012

  
  
  
  
  
  

If this made you angry, share it and spread the word. We deserve better — and so do the people who trusted these drugs.