Abuses by Prescription Drug Industry put Patients at High Risk of Medical Malpractice in New York
Despite being cited by the Ohio Medical Board for performing unnecessary nerve tests and "an excessive number of invasive procedures," Dr. William Leak was able to secure a job with drugmaker Eli Lilly as a promotional speaker and adviser.
Dozens of his poorly qualified fellow doctors joined him in earning millions from drugmakers in the last year. The report by the Boston Globe is the latest in a long string of alarming reports on the business practices of the nation's prescription drug manufacturers. Our New York medical malpractice attorneys represent clients who have been harmed by dangerous or controversial drugs, such as Avandia, or by a doctor's misdiagnosis of a medical condition or misuse of a prescription medication.
Among the revelations disclosed in recent months:
-Makers of Avandia, a controversial diabetes medication linked to heart attack and stroke, kept marketing the blockbuster drug, reaping billions in profits, long after it had evidence of its deadly side effects.
-Many of the positive reports about the drug came from doctors paid by the company to sign ghostwritten articles.
-Despite the drug's ban in Europe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stopped short of banning the drug.
-Many drug companies have been fined millions this year for illegally marketing drugs for uses for which they were not approved and were not intended.
-The FDA largely relies on safety testing performed by drug companies seeking approval of multi-billion dollar medications.
-Many such tests are conducted in third-world countries far from the preying eyes of regulators.
-It is not illegal for doctors to prescribe medication for unapproved uses.
The case of Dr. William Leak is far from unique. In 2001, Pennsylvania Dr. James McMillen was ordered by the FDA to stop false and misleading promotions of the painkiller Celebrex. Still, three other drug makers have paid him nearly a quarter of a million dollars in the last year, the Globe reported.
While drug companies contend they hire the top doctors in their fields, the investigation actually found hundreds of doctors who had been accused of misconduct, disciplined by their professional boards or lacked credentials as researchers or specialists. More than 40 had received FDA warnings for misconduct, or had been convicted of crimes or lost hospital privileges. Twenty had two or more medical malpractice awards against their record.
All told, the investigation detailed $257.8 million paid to doctors by seven drug companies in 2009.
