Health & Medical News

Is their integrity on the line when doctors pitch products?

March 17th, 2008    Posted by: Dr. Dobson

When revelers rang in the New Year, Robert Jarvik, MD, was the star of a massive Pfizer Inc. advertising campaign for Lipitor (atorvastatin). By the end of February, Pfizer had ended the campaign, under the pressure of a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee probe.

The committee’s chair, Rep. John Dingell (D, Mich.), charged that the ads misled the public because they created the impression that Dr. Jarvik is a practicing physician, when he is a biomedical engineer not licensed to practice medicine. The committee disclosed that Dr. Jarvik received $1.35 million under a two-year contract set to expire this month, according to media reports.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: unranked [?]

Tags: , , , ,