Doctor Critical of Vioxx Leaving Clinic

Dr. Eric Topol, a world-renowned cardiologist who was one of the first scientists to raise doubts about the safety of the pain reliever Vioxx, will leave the Cleveland Clinic and its top-ranked heart center to teach at nearby Case Western Reserve University, the Case medical school announced Thursday. The hospital has been confronted with questions about ethical conflicts between patient needs and profits by its researchers, including Topol and CEO Toby Cosgrove, also a noted cardiac surgeon. Merck & Co. pulled the arthritis pain killer Vioxx from the market because its own study showed the drug doubled a patient's risk of heart attacks and strokes. It turned out that Topol was a paid consultant to a hedge fund that was betting against Merck shares. Topol said he was unaware of the short-selling, had no financial interest in the fund and quit. The reason Topol is leaving the hospital was unclear. His departure from the clinic is imminent, said Dr. Ralph I. Horwitz, medical dean at Case Western Reserve University. Topol, 51, is known for his pioneering work on the role of genetics in heart disease, and he used the clinic's premier standing to crusade for awareness of the number one health threat to people's lives. He has been a medical professor at Case. His new appointment as a professor of genetics will involve teaching and research, Horwitz said. Messages seeking comment were left for Topol and the hospital. Topol has directed the clinic's cardiology program for 14 years. His departure, first reported on The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer's Web site, caps more than a year of upheaval at the clinic, whose heart center under Topol's leadership has been ranked No. 1 nationally by U.S. News and World Report for 11 years. The center attracts patients from around the world. In December, Topol lost two high-profile positions at the clinic when the medical school he helped establish decided to eliminate the dual position of provost and chief academic officer. The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University opened in 2004. Topol will be teaching both Case and Lerner college medical students in his new position, Horwitz said. "We're delighted to strengthen our ties with Eric in the work we do," Horwitz said. "Doctor Topol, I think, is one of the pre-eminent physician-scientists in the United States."