Pfizer Questioned by Congress
Lipitor Commercials with Spokesman Jarvik Are Cancelled
After a quarter billion dollars, the drug company is pulling advertisements featuring the inventor of the artificial heart amid an investigation of misleading claims.
On February 26, 2008, Dr. Robert Jarvik was questioned by a U.S. congressional committee about his credentials. The importance of the matter was due to his appearance in Pfizer’s two year ad campaign for the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.
Jarvik’s Credentials
Though he completed medical school, press reports including the New York Times state that Jarvik never went on to complete his residency and therefore was never a licensed physician. This means that he is not a cardiologist, is not licensed to practice medicine, and has never seen patients or had the ability to prescribe Lipitor. Confronted with this information he continued to claim that his 30 year career made him qualified to promote the drug; though he had existed in relative obscurity since inventing the artificial heart more than 25 years ago.
Role As Lipitor Spokesman
Jarvik is said to have been paid at least $1.3 million for his role in the Lipitor ads as part of a marketing campaign reported to have cost Pfizer $258 million since January 2006. Supposedly the good doctor was not even taking the prescription medication until a month after signing his deal with its maker.
The commercials first caused a stir when a member of a northwest U.S. rowing team came forward as the body double used in the ads, making the insinuation of the spokesman’s ability to participate in the exercise misleading. Despite other ads in the campaign that include Jarvik jogging with his son rather than the controversial scene, Pfizer has announced they are canceling the Jarvik ad campaign. However, the congressional committee has said that pulling the ads will not prevent the investigation into how companies market prescription medication to consumers from continuing.
The Link Between Cholesterol And Heart Disease
High cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease, which can lead to heart attack or stroke. In 1996 Pfizer launched Lipitor, known as atorvastatin, as a pill to lower LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol. It has since been marketed, among with other similar drugs called statins, as a way to prevent heart disease. Many researchers and doctors question the cholesterol guidelines because they are based on research that shows statins only benefit men who already have heart disease or are at high risk due to other factors such as family history, smoking, obesity, or genetic disorders.
The medications act on the body’s cholesterol production system to reduce the amount produced, decreasing the total amount added to dietary cholesterol. For patients with heart disease this can be beneficial to prevent further heart attacks or blockages requiring operation. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that “therapeutic life changes” be attempted before drug consideration. The life changes include exercise, weight loss, and diet change. The AHA recommends prescription intervention if the LDL cholesterol levels in the blood still exceed 190 mg/dL and there is no history of heart disease or 130 mg/dL in coronary heart disease patients.
The common side effects of Lipitor include headache, constipation, diarrhea, gas, upset stomach and pain, rash, muscle and joint pain. Rare side effects that should be seen by a doctor immediately are muscle pain and weakness due to a rare breakdown of skeletal muscle and liver or kidney disease.
