Key Vioxx critic leaving clinic
Dr. Eric Topol, a world-renowned cardiologist who has taken on drug advertising and pharmaceutical companies but has faced questions about his own potential conflicts of interest, is leaving the Cleveland Clinic.
Topol — who attacked the pain reliever Vioxx while working as a consultant for a hedge fund that was betting against the drug's manufacturer — will become a genetics professor at Case Western Reserve University, the school announced Thursday. Topol has been a Case medical professor.
"We're delighted to strengthen our ties with Eric in the work we do," Case medical dean Dr. Ralph Horwitz said.
Neither Topol nor the clinic immediately responded to requests for comment.
Topol, 51, has led the Cleveland Clinic's distinguished cardiology program for 14 years and is known for his work on the role of genetics in heart disease. He used the clinic's prestige to raise awareness of heart disease.
Topol was one of the first scientists to raise doubts about the safety of Vioxx, and has been a key witness in lawsuits arguing that Merck & Co. concealed the dangers.
Topol also has criticized the $500-per-dose cost of the popular heart medication Natrecor and charged that is being given unnecessarily to some patients. He has also complained that advertisements by drug companies glamorize medicines.
In December, Topol lost two high-profile positions at the clinic when the medical school he helped establish there eliminated his dual position of provost and chief academic officer.
His departure comes as the Cleveland Clinic confronts questions about ethical conflicts between patient needs and profits among researchers such as Topol and Chief Executive Toby Cosgrove.
In December, a Wall Street Journal article detailed Cosgrove's relationship with AtriCure, a medical device company, and the clinic's role in a venture capital firm that invested in it. Cosgrove sat on AtriCure's board and served as a general partner.
The clinic announced Thursday it was tightening its ethics policies after a preliminary review found that poor disclosure practices by Cosgrove reflected problems throughout the clinic. Clinic spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said the clinic must correct the "imbalance between innovation and transparency."
Topol has said that he was unaware when he was working as a paid consultant to the hedge fund that was short-selling. He said that he had no financial interest in the fund and that he quit the work.
Merck pulled Vioxx from the market after its own study showed that the drug doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Topol — who attacked the pain reliever Vioxx while working as a consultant for a hedge fund that was betting against the drug's manufacturer — will become a genetics professor at Case Western Reserve University, the school announced Thursday. Topol has been a Case medical professor.
"We're delighted to strengthen our ties with Eric in the work we do," Case medical dean Dr. Ralph Horwitz said.
Neither Topol nor the clinic immediately responded to requests for comment.
Topol, 51, has led the Cleveland Clinic's distinguished cardiology program for 14 years and is known for his work on the role of genetics in heart disease. He used the clinic's prestige to raise awareness of heart disease.
Topol was one of the first scientists to raise doubts about the safety of Vioxx, and has been a key witness in lawsuits arguing that Merck & Co. concealed the dangers.
Topol also has criticized the $500-per-dose cost of the popular heart medication Natrecor and charged that is being given unnecessarily to some patients. He has also complained that advertisements by drug companies glamorize medicines.
In December, Topol lost two high-profile positions at the clinic when the medical school he helped establish there eliminated his dual position of provost and chief academic officer.
His departure comes as the Cleveland Clinic confronts questions about ethical conflicts between patient needs and profits among researchers such as Topol and Chief Executive Toby Cosgrove.
In December, a Wall Street Journal article detailed Cosgrove's relationship with AtriCure, a medical device company, and the clinic's role in a venture capital firm that invested in it. Cosgrove sat on AtriCure's board and served as a general partner.
The clinic announced Thursday it was tightening its ethics policies after a preliminary review found that poor disclosure practices by Cosgrove reflected problems throughout the clinic. Clinic spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said the clinic must correct the "imbalance between innovation and transparency."
Topol has said that he was unaware when he was working as a paid consultant to the hedge fund that was short-selling. He said that he had no financial interest in the fund and that he quit the work.
Merck pulled Vioxx from the market after its own study showed that the drug doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
posted by Chris Placitella at 6:09 AM
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