Posted on 02/25/2008 9:54:59 PM PST by Sleeping Freeper
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc said Monday it was voluntarily withdrawing advertising for its Lipitor cholesterol drug featuring Dr. Robert Jarvik, inventor of the Jarvik artificial heart, because its ads led to "misimpressions."
ads involving Jarvik had come under scrutiny, including from a House Committee as part of an investigation into celebrity endorsements of prescription medicines.
Democratic lawmakers had voiced concern that Jarvik's qualifications were misrepresented in widely seen television commercials touting the blockbuster drug. They said he seemed to be dispensing medical advice even though he is not a practicing physician.
On his Web site, Jarvik describes himself as a medical scientist who has worked in the field of artificial hearts for 36 years and does not practice clinical medicine or treat individual patients.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
"Jarvik received his M.D. in 1976 from the University of Utah. He did not complete an internship or residency and has never been licensed to practice medicine".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jarvik
Synchronicity, lol
I saw that commercial on USA the same time you posted this...
I wondered when it was gonna be pulled, heard about this a week or so back.
“He and his wife Marilyn vos Savant”
I didn’t know he was married to her. He is one lucky man.
Why would anyone consider him an expert on the medicinal use of pharmaceutics Oh, yeah, the same folks who need the disclaimer I saw earlier this evening where a guy jumped off a skyscraper and there had to be some subtext say, "do not attempt this." We are devolving media to address the lowest comment denominator.
Most drug ads feature non-physician actors. Will all of those ads be pulled, also?
>>“He and his wife Marilyn vos Savant”
>>I didn’t know he was married to her. He is one lucky man.
One interesting tidbit from http://www.marilynvossavant.com/bio.html
“Marilyn vos Savant is a national columnist and author. She is an executive at Jarvik Heart, Inc., which manufactures artificial hearts for permanent and temporary use in the treatment of heart failure. The company can be visited at www.jarvikheart.com.”
You mean like those ones where they get some big old fat actor, whose last speaking role was 35 years ago on Bonanza where he played a big old fat guy even then, who is now pitching something or other about diabetes? :)
I’m not a doctor, but I’ve played one on TV.
He didn’t even invent the pump. Paul Winchell did and gave the patent to the University of Utah and Jarvik.
I wish they would pull all the drug ads. I am so sick of them. At least they could try and change them more often. But my gosh they tell a person to buy a drug then spend 90% of the commercial telling you how you will die from it or go blind or whatever. LOL
The cholesterol theory of heart disease has been almost completely discredited.
I guess the drug companies don't have another set of drugs ready for distribution as yet.(maybe their commercials aren't ready yet)
I think the ad should be pulled because of his stupid looking mullet and because of the way he runs like a girl in his dated jogging suit.
But that’s just my opinion.
Can we pull the whiny Democrats too? Don’t congressmen have anything better to do?
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