Dr. Topol, Fall out for Vioxx comments?

This is an interesting piece today in the NY Times online edition that discusses Dr. Eric Topol, his position Vioxx, some of the controversy swirling around him, and how the Cleveland Clinic is handling it's being thrust into the spotlight of litigation, studies and science.

In the words of the reporter:

"The Cleveland Clinic is emblematic of the way the drug and medical device industries and the investment community work closely with medical researchers and doctors to develop and promote new medicines and technologies. Almost inevitably, such relationships raise concerns about possible conflicts of interest that could lead doctors to favor some treatments over others or to bias the results of medical research.

"It's not just the Cleveland Clinic," said Les Funtleyder, a health care strategist at the investment company Miller Tabak & Company in New York. He says other high-profile academic medical centers also have numerous financial ties that raise the potential for conflicts of interest."

Instructive reading for those of us who rely on the use of experts to build or tear down litigation strategies.