J
Joe S.
Guest
QUOTE
The prominent cardiologist sounding alarms about the diabetes drug Avandia
claims he is the target of a smear campaign organized by a top Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) spokesman.
Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland
Clinic, showed ABC News an e-mail sent to several health reporters by
Douglas Arbesfeld, a senior communications consultant to the FDA.
In the e-mail, entitled "What are St. Steven's feet made of? Clay,
perhaps?," Arbesfeld forwarded to reporters a critical news article which
included an anonymous blog accusing Nissen of playing favorites among drug
companies.
Nissen, who co-authored a recent study in the New England Journal of
Medicine suggesting that Avandia may increase the risk of heart attacks, was
visibly upset about what he considers a direct attack on his personal
integrity and professional reputation.
'An Outrage'
"I'm a pretty tough guy," Nissen told ABC News, "but I'll tell you, having
this kind of an e-mail that questions my motives, broadcast to the major
journalists with whom I work and have established a reputation, is -- it's
an outrage. Using taxpayer dollars, a federal agency's press office, rather
than responding to the scientific questions that I raised, attempting to
smear me individually. It's unacceptable."
Arbesfeld, who is among the FDA's top spokesmen, acknowledged sending the
e-mail to a handful of reporters but denied he was attempting to impugn
Nissen's reputation.
Arbesfeld joined the FDA as a full-time communications consultant after
serving as a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical division. In a
statement, the FDA told ABC News, "The content of the e-mail from an FDA
consultant was his own words and does not represent an FDA position."
'The Big Lie'
Arbesfeld included in his e-mail a comment on a blog posting, originally
published in the Wall Street Journal, that accuses Nissen of primarily
criticizing manufacturers that do not support drug trials at the Cleveland
Clinic: "Wake up, pharmaceutical companies
The prominent cardiologist sounding alarms about the diabetes drug Avandia
claims he is the target of a smear campaign organized by a top Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) spokesman.
Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland
Clinic, showed ABC News an e-mail sent to several health reporters by
Douglas Arbesfeld, a senior communications consultant to the FDA.
In the e-mail, entitled "What are St. Steven's feet made of? Clay,
perhaps?," Arbesfeld forwarded to reporters a critical news article which
included an anonymous blog accusing Nissen of playing favorites among drug
companies.
Nissen, who co-authored a recent study in the New England Journal of
Medicine suggesting that Avandia may increase the risk of heart attacks, was
visibly upset about what he considers a direct attack on his personal
integrity and professional reputation.
'An Outrage'
"I'm a pretty tough guy," Nissen told ABC News, "but I'll tell you, having
this kind of an e-mail that questions my motives, broadcast to the major
journalists with whom I work and have established a reputation, is -- it's
an outrage. Using taxpayer dollars, a federal agency's press office, rather
than responding to the scientific questions that I raised, attempting to
smear me individually. It's unacceptable."
Arbesfeld, who is among the FDA's top spokesmen, acknowledged sending the
e-mail to a handful of reporters but denied he was attempting to impugn
Nissen's reputation.
Arbesfeld joined the FDA as a full-time communications consultant after
serving as a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical division. In a
statement, the FDA told ABC News, "The content of the e-mail from an FDA
consultant was his own words and does not represent an FDA position."
'The Big Lie'
Arbesfeld included in his e-mail a comment on a blog posting, originally
published in the Wall Street Journal, that accuses Nissen of primarily
criticizing manufacturers that do not support drug trials at the Cleveland
Clinic: "Wake up, pharmaceutical companies