June 7, 1996
Dear friends,
I am enclosing a press statement by DES Action USA concerning women's
health awards co-sponsored by Eli Lilly and Co. as well as names and
addresses of award recipients. They are urgently requesting anyone who
agrees that this sponsorship is inappropriate to fax each of the
recipients and ask them to decline the award, "denying Eli Lilly the
opportunity to profit from assocition with those whom the women's
health community does honor."
As you will see from the press statement, they have given the company
the possibility to publicly apologize for the damage to women's health
caused by the marketing of DES (diethylstilboestrol), but have not
received any response. We agree strongly with DES Action's position
and hope that you will be able to fax the recipients and add your
voices to this protest. If you do, please send a copy to DES Action
USA.
I do not have DES Action's letter to the hosts of the "Achievement
Awards in Women's Health", to Eli Lilly and to award recipients on
disk. If you would like copies of these letters for additional
background information or as a model for a letter to send to
recipients, you can contact them by e-mail: desact@well.com or fax
(see press release). With best regards,
Barbara Mintzes
HAI-Europe
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Andrea Goldstein - DES Action, +1-617-828-7437
Nora Cody - DES Action, +1-510-465-4012/4011
Darci Picoult - DES Cancer Network, +1-212-799-6420
Lawmakers join consumers against pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly
Consumers injured by DES call for boycott of Women's Health Awards
Sen. Olympia Snowe and Rep. Pat Schroeder have declined their "public
policy" awards which were to be presented June 18 at The 1996
Achievement Awards in Women's Health. Their decision comes in
response to a protest of the awards event organized by women and men
injured by the drug DES (diethylstilbestrol).
A coalition of DES consumer groups is protesting pharmaceutical giant
Eli Lilly and Co.'s hosting of the event, which honors individuals for
their contributions to women's health. They are asking all other
honorees to join Snowe and Schroeder in declining their awards. Other
honorees include Rep. Henry Waxman, former NIH head Bernadine Healy,
and Barbara Harris, editor-in-chief, SHAPE magazine.
Pat Schroeder explained why she declined her award: Until "the people
who were injured by the actions of Eli Lilly are satisfied that that
very sad chapter's been closed . . . to allow them to try and change
their image and buy good P.R. by backing these types of events is
really wrong."
Eli Lilly and Company is the most prominent manufacturer of the
cancer-causing pregnancy drug DES. Despite the overwhelming
scientific consensus that DES has caused deaths and irrevocable
injuries, including cancer, reproductive health problems and other
serious health disorders, Lilly has never acknowledged that DES is
anything but beneficial and continues to fight all attempts from
injured DES consumers to obtain compensation.
National consumer groups DES Action, the DES Cancer Network, the DES
Sons Network and the DES Third Generation Network state that "It's a
travesty that Eli Lilly and Co. -- who continues to show complete
disrespect and disregard to those seriously injured by their DES
exposure -- is now trying to present itself as a proponent of women's
health."
Upon hearing of Lilly's involvement in the awards event DES daughter
Karen Lang (Seattle) exclaimed: "Eli Lilly's connection to awards for
women's health research is like a tobacco company making awards for
lung cancer research."
In a letter (see attached) to sponsors Eli Lilly and Co. and the
Society for the Advancement of Women's Health Research, the DES
consumer groups ask that Eli Lilly uphold the ethical standards of
scientific research which these awards propose to honor. This letter,
which has not been answered, calls upon Lilly "to issue a statement
acknowledging that DES caused serious damage, including cancer,
reproductive problems, and the possibility of further damages to
mothers, daughters and sons exposed to DES during the time that it was
manufactured and marketed by Eli Lilly and Co."
Consumers injured by DES call for boycott of Women's Health Awards
The letter also calls upon Eli Lilly to offer a public apology to the
DES exposed population, and to publish both the statement and apology
in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles
Times.
DES-exposed individuals continue to urge all honorees to decline their
awards unless Eli Lilly agrees to the above three requests. They
have been joined by international organizations such as Health Action
International, DES Action The Netherlands, and DES Action Canada.
Lilly's hosting of the Women's Health Awards coincides with their
development of new drugs for osteoporosis and breast cancer and
appears to be part of a company strategy to portray itself as a
company women can trust. Lilly recently established a Women's Health
Center at the company. But Lilly's efforts to whitewash its image
will not succeed with millions of Americans who remember DES and have
learned that Eli Lilly is a company that women cannot trust.
- 30 -
The Society for the Advancement of Women's Health Research
and Eli Lilly and Company
The 1996 Achievement Awards in Women's Health
Tuesday, June 18, 1996 -- The Four Seasons Hotel
Washington, D.C.
Basic Science Award Communications Award
Maria I. New, M.D. Barbara S. Harris
Prof. and Chairman, Dept. of Pediatrics Editor-in-Chief
Chief, Pediatric Endocrinology SHAPE
New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center 21100 Erwin St.
525 E. 68th St., Room N236 Woodland Hills, CA 91367
New York, NY 10021 +1-818-884-6800
+1-212-746-3450 Fax +1-818-704-5734
Fax +1-212-746-0300
Clinical Service Award Advocacy Award
Trudy Bush, Ph.D., M.H.S. Roselyn Payne Epps, M.D., M.P.H.,
Professor, Dept. of Epidemiology & F.A.A.P., National Cancer
Institute Preventive Medicine Executive Plaza North 241 University
of Maryland Medical School 6130 Executive Blvd., MSC 7337 660 W.
Redwood St. Bethesda, MD 20892-7337
Howard Hall 133 +1-301-496-0273
Baltimore, MD 21201 Fax +1-301-496-8675
+1-410-706-2865
Fax +1-410-706-8013
Georgeanna Seegar Jones Award
Maureen McGrath Henderson, M.D., D.P.H.
Fred Hutchinson Center
1730 Minor Ave. (MP-702)
Seattle, WA 98101
+1-206-667-4678
Fax +1-206-667-5977
Jean Hazeltine Award
Bernadine P. Healy, M.D.
Dean, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University
370 West 9th
254 Meling Hall
Columbus, OH 43210
+1-614-292-1200
Fax +1-614-292-1301