Nearly two weeks ago, Pfizer disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that there was a mistake in a study publicized last March, which initially showed Lipitor lowered cardiovascular risks. At the time, a press release was issued to tout the results. But this month, the drugmaker refused to similarly issue a press release after discovering the mistake and filing with the SEC, even though docs and managed care decision-makers may not readily hear about the bad news otherwise.

Today, however, Pfizer has no difficulty issuing a press release that - surprise - touts good news about Lipitor. A new analysis of a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine found the very high 80 mg dose of the cholesterol pill reduced the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease events and major coronary events in certain type 2 diabetes patients. The results*, which generated debate*, are trumpeted at this week’s American Diabetes Association in Chicago.

This behavior runs counter to the very goals Pfizer ceo Jeff Kindler articulated to Wall Street analysts and fund managers last November, when he spoke of “transparency, candid dialogue, clear accountability.”

So Jeff, what happened? If the marketing team is no longer in charge of everything, why hasn’t Pfizer gotten around to issuing that bad news press release? Your company has had 11 days to correct its mistake. Will that happen, or are accountability and transparency just convenient buzzwords?

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