Marilyn Mann's blog discussed the appointment of a former pharmaceutical company executive, most recently at Actelion, and previously at Hoffman La Roche, Abbott Canada, Nordic Labs and Marion Merrill Dow (now known as Aventis), as president of the American College of Cardiology. Although Mr Jacobovitz, who boasts a bachelor's degree in biology but no obvious experience in direct health care or biomedical science, was touted by the ACC as having "developed a strong patient- and customer-centered corporate strategy," Ms Mann provided documentation that his trajectory at Actelion seemed more money- than patient-centered.
During his watch, Actelion was cited for not reporting 3500 deaths of patients taking two of its drugs to the US Food an Drug Administration (FDA). Actelion blocked availability of samples of one of its drugs to generic drug companies, an action that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged violated anti-trust laws. Actelion purchased a company that was working on a drug that could have become a competitor to Actelion's most remunerative product, and then shut down development, possibly preventing a drug that might help patients from reaching them. Finally, Acetelion's marketing practices seem to be currently under investigation by a US Attorney.
One wonders why cardiologists would want such an individual representing them as leader of their premier organization?
(Dr Wes wondered as well.)
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