INDIANAPOLIS - Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. is close to agreeing to a $1.4 billion settlement related to a government investigation into the marketing of its top seller Zyprexa, according to a New York Times report.

The Times reported Wednesday on its Web site that an agreement could be reached as soon as Thursday.

Lilly spokeswoman Marni Lemons said she could only say the company was involved in “advanced discussions” with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to resolve the investigation.

Lemons said the same thing in October, when Lilly announced it would take a $1.4 billion charge in the third quarter related to the investigation.

Lilly wound up with a third-quarter loss of $465.6 million, or 43 cents per share, due to the charge. That was Lilly’s first quarterly loss since 2005.

Lemons also said in October the drugmaker wasn’t admitting wrongdoing in selling the anti-psychotic. She declined to comment on that issue Wednesday.

Patricia Hartman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, also declined to comment on the Lilly case.

Zyprexa has been Lilly’s top-selling drug for years. It brought in $3.5 billion in revenue through the first three quarters of 2008, or roughly $1.5 billion more than the company’s second-best seller, the antidepressant Cymbalta. In 2007, Zyprexa brought in more than $4.7 billion. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved it for treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

But the Times reported in late 2006 that confidential documents show Lilly downplayed the drug’s risks and marketed it for unapproved uses.

Lawsuits have made similar claims, accusing Lilly of pushing doctors to prescribe Zyprexa for “off-label” conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors are free to prescribe drugs for unapproved uses, but pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from marketing them for those uses.

The U.S. attorney’s office launched its investigation in 2004, and Lilly received a grand jury subpoena for a range of documents late last year.

Lilly shares fell 3 cents in after-hours trading Wednesday after closing down $1.05 at $37.47.

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