Celebrity Medications
Do you trust a medication more if a celebrity endorses it through advertising?
Should the celebrity be held accountable for all claims about the drug, even those not made in his ad?
The latest controversy concerns Dr. Robert Jarvik, who designed the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. He stars in print and TV ads for Pfizer’s popular anti-cholesterol drug, Lipitor.
Dr. Jarvik has been subpoenaed in a lawsuit by several labor unions.
They allege that the drug is marketed illegally. Supposedly, their health benefit programs paid for Lipitor for patients who shouldn’t have received it.
The controversy concerns “off-label marketing.”
According to the lawsuit, the FDA approved Lipitor for use with only certain patients, including those whose levels of bad cholesterol, LDL, were 160 ml/dL or higher.
But supposedly Pfizer marketed the drug for use in patients with LDL of 130 or above.
That means more sales for Pfizer and higher expenses for health benefit programs.
I believe the subpoena requires that Dr. Jarvik reveal what Lipitor documents he saw before making the ads, how much money he was paid, and records of his communications with Pfizer and its ad agencies.
I don’t believe that Dr. Jarvik is a defendant in the lawsuit.
There isn’t even an allegation, as far as I know, that his ads mention the off-label marketing of Lipitor.
There’s no doubt that companies like Pfizer use celebrity endorsements to increase the sales of their drugs.
I’ve seen Dr. Jarvik’s ad several times in the last week or so. And I have to admit it made me stop and think — even before I heard of this lawsuit.
I wondered if he really used Lipitor or if he was just a paid spokesman?
I’m not convinced of the benefits of anti-cholesterol drugs. I think there are too many side effects. So I’d try to change my diet first.
But for people who aren’t as skeptical of these drugs as I am, would the presence of Dr. Jarvik spur them to ask their doctors about Lipitor?
I believe it would. But that’s not the issue.
The real question is whether Dr. Jarvik should be held responsible for Pfizer’s claims about Lipitor, especially if those claims weren’t made in his ads?
Maybe the real intent of this subpoena is to scare celebrities away from drug endorsements by appearing to hold them accountable for actions over which they have no control.
If celebrities stop endorsing drugs, sales will go down. And so will the expenses for health benefit programs.
I believe the entire concept of advertising drugs directly to the public is wrong. In my opinion, it drives up the costs of health care by artificially increasing the demand for drugs.
But it’s up to the FDA and the FTC to stop this type of advertising.
I don’t believe it’s fair to hold people like Dr. Jarvik responsible for statements and marketing decisions they didn’t make.
The CEOs of the drug companies should be responsible for that.
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