David Brennan will be deposed today regarding allegations the drugmaker hid the risk that its Seroquel antipsychotic can cause diabetes and is expected to answer questions in London from attorneys representing thousands of plaintiffs across the US, The Delaware News-Journal reports.

“A lot of very good people have been severely injured for the rest of their life because of the conduct of this company and the effect of this drug,” Paul Pennock of Weitz & Luxenberg, a New York law firm handling about 2,500 Seroquel cases in federal and state courts, tells the paper. AZ faces 8,440 personal injury lawsuits from more than 12,000 plaintiffs over Seroquel.

The lawsuits include a consolidated case in federal court in Florida, for which Brennan is giving his deposition, as well as clusters of state court cases in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Missouri, the paper writes, adding that Pennock says the first cases are likely to go to trial next spring.

For its part, the drugmaker says Seroquel has helped millions of people suffering from mental illnesses lead healthy lives, the nature of the alleged injuries is unclear and little or no info about the alleged injuries was provided in the complaints. “AstraZeneca intends to litigate these cases on the merits and will defend the cases vigorously,” a spokesman tells the paper.

But Pennock tells the paper that evidence at trial will show that AZ knew Seroquel could potentially cause high blood sugar levels, weight gain and diabetes; dangers were hidden; and that it avoided studying the issue to limit evidence of the risks. AZ added a warning about the risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes to Seroquel’s label in 2004 at the urging of the FDA, the paper reminds us.

Pennock said as many as 70 percent of Seroquel prescriptions were for “off-label” uses, meaning the FDA has not approved the drug for those uses. Seroquel is approved for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. At least three states, including Pennsylvania, have sued AZ over marketing Seroquel, its No. 2 drug with more than $4 billion in sales last year, the paper writes.

The AZ spokesman says AZ promotes its medications in accordance with FDA regulations. Doctors are free to prescribe medications as they see fit. “That’s their decision based on their medical judgment about the needs of their patients,” he tells the paper.

Pennock tells the paper that AZ lawyers have refused to discuss a settlement, but he thinks Seroquel litigation could cost the drug maker as much as $10 billion.