Peter Libby, Credibility And Piles Of Cash
4 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // May 12th, 2008 // 12:59 pm
Last month, Peter Libby decided to stop accepting payments from drug and device makers for speaking at meetings or for sitting on advisory boards. Libby, who is chief of cardiovascular medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, began receiving offers from drugmakers 25 years ago, but was caught up in a controversy over industry funding of a recent PBS program on the human heart.
Now, you can hear Libby discuss this on NPR (click here): “I would say I’ve worked with virtually every company that has produced, manufactured, sold - or even thought about producing, manufacturing or selling - any product which could be used in cardiovascular prevention.
“What’s changed is the climate. I found that my credibility was really impaired by my financial relationships with industry. So I decided my platform as a spokesperson for cardiovascular prevention was more important than the personal remuneration. And so I decided to make a clean break.”
Hat tip to Pharmagossip
Colorado Kid
I guess he is tired of being called a Damn Whore! Day Late and plenty of dollars stashed away.
MD Comment
How wonderful! After 25 years of taking huge bundles of money from many Big Pharma companies, Libby now decides that he’s making a clean break. I’d guess that he’s made hundreds of thousands of dollars consulting, advising, speaking and doing special research projects for Big Pharma. I’ve been to many major medical and scientific meetings, nationally and globally, where he has spoken for numerous Big Pharma companies over a period of a few days! He’s been huge at AHA, ACC, ESC and EAS to name a few. I’ve heard of him being on retainer for companies. How come he’s not coming out and saying how much he’s made and from whom? Is he completely severing his ties or just slowing down? There are many unanswered questions, not just about Libby, but also for many other Key Opinion Leaders who have been making big money for years.
Melody
Anytime a KOL steps forward to “talk to the talk”–I’m heartened; but waiting for that same KOL to “walk the walk” demands that people like Ed and Jack et al. keep us informed.
Thanks for the reporting, Ed.
Paul
OK, I am confused. How many times posters in this and other logs and critics all over the place have cried for doctors to stand up and refuse to be paid for work for pharma companies.
Here’s a KOL doing exactly that, and he gets panned.
What do you people want?