Another day, another lawsuit
According to today's Wall Street Journal:
Dr. Polansky was Pfizer's director of outcomes management strategies from 2001 to 2003, and his responsibilities included reviewing some of the marketing materials for Lipitor and other Pifzer products. He says he was fired by Pfizer after complaining about marketing he considered to be improper. Dr. Polansky now works as the senior medical officer for Medicare in a unit that investigates fraud and abuse at the big government health insurer.
The allegations against Pfizer echo concern elsewhere that continuing medical-education programs for doctors are often sales pitches for "off-label" uses of drugs. A congressional committee this past summer said it was concerned there was little oversight of these programs -- where doctors are often wined and dined -- or enforcement when companies use them as marketing tools.
My view? Well all marketing materials have to go through internal clearance and get signed off usually by Medical, Legal and Regulatory. If Dr Polansky didn't agree with the marketing materials he had the option to not sign off or work with the marketing people to correct the statements that he felt were stretching the truth. If the marketing materials were signed off by another medical affairs person he then had the option to document his concerns and present them to senior management at Pfizer. Instead he gets fired and then decides to sue the company under the whistle blower program which can be an umbrella for poor performing employees to sue their employers.
Now I am not saying that his case is without merit but if we are to "clean up" the mess in this industry it has to start with each one of us. A corporation is made up of people and is not some big glass building on a hill. Each one of us has the responsibility to point out when marketing crosses the line instead of figuring out ways to stretch the line. However, if by chance his lawsuit is 100% accurate and he did blow the whistle and get fired then Pfizer needs to be held criminally responsible for off label promotion and someone needs to go to jail. That's right I said jail ! It seems that the only way this industry is going to learn not to make these mistakes is the threat of jail time hanging over someone's head. Maybe that will finally communicate that stepping over the line is not acceptable and the industry had better police itself or else the warden will do it for them.