Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14504
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: news
Goldstein J.
Senators Probe Cardiologists’ Ties to Stent Makers
The Wall Street Journal Blog 2008 Oct 16
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/10/16/senators-probe-cardiologists-ties-to-stent-makers/
Full text:
Sens. Chuck Grassley and Herb Kohl are making a habit of delving into financial ties between high-profile doctors and the drug and device industries.
The latest salvo came today, as the senators sent letters to Columbia University and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, asking about payments from stent makers to the institutions and affiliated doctors.
CRF’s founder, Martin Leon, as well as its current chairman, Gregg Stone, are both stent specialists affiliated with Columbia, and both are among the doctors listed by name in the letters. The foundation receives funding from device makers, among other sources, and conducts research.
The letters also ask for info about ties to a few companies in particular, including Abbott, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson – the four shops that sell stents in the U.S.
Kohl and Grassley have also been writing to drug and device makers directly lately, asking them about their payments to docs, and we wouldn’t be surprised if they’re doing a bit of triangulation here and seeking info from the companies as well.
Earlier this month, Grassley sent a letter to Emory that said a high-profile psychiatrist there had received more than $500,000 from GlaxoSmithKline over the course of a few years when he reported receiving payments of less than $10,000 per year from the company.
“CRF welcomes the inquiry from Senators Kohl and Grassley and intends to comply fully with their request for information,” the foundation, said in a statement emailed to the Health Blog. “CRF is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in all of its research and educational activities and ensuring independence, objectivity and scientific rigor in all of its programs.” Columbia didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Grassley and Kohl back a bill that would require drug and device makers to report payments to doctors.
Update: In a statement, Columbia said it has received the letter and “look[s] forward to responding to its questions and requests for information. It is important to note that Columbia University and its Medical Center have conflict of interest policies and procedures in place and we expect that they are followed by all members of the faculty.”
Bonus Probe: This summer Kohl sent the American College of Cardiology a letter, asking the group about its partnership with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, which receives funding from several device makers.
