Director Of Controversial TMAP Program Leaves
8 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // September 4th, 2008 // 10:10 am
John Rush, the director of a controversial Texas program called T-MAP, which was created to implement a state system for treating psychiatric disorders, has taken a job in Singapore, where he has joined the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore as vice dean for clinical sciences. (Look here).
Why is TMAP controversial? The state filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson’s Jannsen unit for allegedly using false advertising and improper influence - such as grants, trips and other perks - to get its Risperdal antipsychotic on the now-mandatory adult protocol, the Texas Medication Algorithm Project. Drugmakers also reportedly paid decision makers to promote their meds.
Just last month, Texas officials suspended a similar program tailored for children, called TC-MAP, over fears drugmakers may have given researchers consulting contracts, speaking fees or other payments to help get their products listed on the protocol.
“TMAP and TCMAP proved to be powerful marketing tools for Risperdal…Driven by these gains and revenues, defendants turned to developing a concerted marketing plan to replicate these programs, and the dramatic revenue and market share generated by TMAP and its progeny in other states,” the lawsuit states, according to The Daily Texan.
The research is state-funded but also includes money from private sponsors. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation donated $2.4 million for the initial creation of the TMAP project, according to the paper, which also noted the program received $191,183 from Janssen, $146,500 from Pfizer and $103,000 from Lily.
Perry
I hope there is an extradition treaty with Singapore.
Meg
Yes, there are many of us with dead children who would like to take a crack at him.
Larry Alphs
I regret that this article is so biased against a very important investigator and clinician who has dedicated his career to serving the mentally ill. The stimulus for TMAP was a very credible approach to trying to find the best way to treat persons with mental illness. The program may have had limitations, but it has provided much value to the field. There should be more balance in this discussion rather than empty allegations that inspire and promote the ill will of others.
I further regret that we have to decend to depths of threatening violence when critiquing the work of some of our most dedicated and an thoughtful citizens.
Nancy Fruge
Dr. Alphs commented on bias and credibility.
Here are two related articles on the concepts of bias and credibility:
1. The price of independence by Joe Collier (BMJ 2006; 332; 1447-1449).
2. How do STAR*D results help our depressed patients? The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Vol. 5, No. 1, January 2007.
Dr. Alphs: Are you still with Pfizer Inc? Dr. Rush, formerly employed by UT Southwestern, has reported he owns Pfizer stock. UT Southwestern’s Policy and Procedures on Conflicts of Interest in Research was revised in December 2007. The new policy included a mandate that “stock ownership of any amount connected with any Business Entity with which the Faculty Member, Family, or Associated Entity has a clinical research relationship will not be allowed.”
A recent reminder from NIH on financial conflict of interest requirements - previously discussed on this site - is posted on UT Southwestern’s Conflict of Interest Web page as well.
As promised, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni is making progress in the enhancement of his agency’s oversight of institutions’ financial conflicts of interest – or to borrow Senator Grassley’s words, “add teeth” to NIH rules on disclosure.
Arnold Relman offers a solution, “These investigators should be well paid by their institutions, and they should have the time and resources needed to do their research, but they should not expect to be personally enriched beyond that [Relman AS, Improper Rewards of Research, The Boston Globe, July 12, 2008].”
Ed Silverman
Hi Larry,
With all due respect, I would argue my post is not biased. I simply noted that Rush has left and that he was the director of a program that was controversial. And I then briefly mentioned why it was controversial. Like it or not, he gained the profile he did, in part, because of the controversy. And that became news. As a result, his departure is news.
Regards
ed
Nancy Fruge
To correct my previous post, I believe Dr. Alphs is with Janssen now…my apologies.
laurie
“The stimulus for TMAP was a very credible approach to trying to find the best way to treat persons with mental illness. The program may have had limitations, but it has provided much value to the field”
TMAP was a cookie cutter approach which attempted to simplify treatment of a complex group of diagnosis’ using the most expensive drugs available. Those expensive drugs are now under fire for their life threatening physical effects, ie. diabetes. I don’t see much “value” there.
Pam
When are they going to put these drug companies and their corrupt “non” profit foundations behind bars? They have gotten so powerful with their huge campaign contributions, lobbying, support of presidential candidates, that they think they’re untouchable..and they probably are. If you or I did half the things the RWJF and JnJ did, we’d be locked up with the key thrown away. It’s time they paid the piper. How about stock manipulation? How about the fact they PAY to have laws created through their NON profit foundation from which both JnJ and RWJF profit from the sales of Nicoderm, Nicorette and now Splenda and bariatric surgery? My GOD. They’ve arificially inflated JnJ stock. Isn’t that an SEC violation? Or even against the RICO act? Racketeering and corruption with a pattern…isn’t that the definition?