Yes, Dr Robert Jarvik invented an artificial heart. But should he be the face of Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor? Congress isn't so sure.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has asked Mr Jarvik to answer questions regarding his job as poster boy for the pill.
In the hot seat, Jarvik will probably be questioned about his medical credentials--he is not licensed to practice medicine nor is he a cardiologist--as well as his athleticism. In the ads, Jarvik appears to rowing a shell when in fact body doubles from Lake Washington Rowing Club were hired to do the work.
“He’s about as much an outdoorsman as Woody Allen,” said a longtime collaborator, Dr. O. H. Frazier of the Texas Heart Institute. “He can’t row.”
It appears as if both Pfizer and Jarvik might be fudging the truth to sell the drug, which is the most popular pill on the planet. Last year, Pfizer sold $12.7 billion in Lipitor.
The Jarvik campaign, launched in 2006, has helped the company stave off competition from generic brands such as Zocor. Lipitor ad campaigns cost Pfizer $258 million from January 2006 to September 2007, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
The Congressional committee will investigate when and why Jarvik began taking Lipitor.
On his website, Jarvik states: “I accepted the role of spokesman for Lipitor because I am dedicated to the battle against heart disease, which killed my father at age 62 and motivated me to become a medical doctor.”
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