It was just a matter of time
Frankly Diabetic Investor isn’t sure if we should be relieved or concerned. This paradox was prompted when we read that our good friend that crusading cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen has come out of hibernation and is once again crusading. Now instead of targeting another diabetes drug, thank goodness, the good doctor is going after the obesity treatment Contrave.
According to a story posted on The Daily Briefing;
“Orexigen Therapeutics on Tuesday terminated a required cardiovascular outcomes trial for its obesity drug Contrave amid controversy over the publication of interim results that the lead trial researcher called misleading and unreliable.
The 9,000-patient trial was being conducted at the Cleveland Clinic and lead by cardiologist Steven Nissen. In March, Orexigen released interim data from the trial suggesting that the drug did more than help patients lose weight; it also reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease deaths by 41%.
Study: These six activities could prevent 70% of heart attacks
Shortly after the company released the data, Nissen objected to the early announcement, saying the data was premature and not reliable. John Jenkins, the head of the FDA’s Office of New Drugs, agreed with Nissen.
This week, Cleveland Clinic issued a press release in which Nissen offered data to support his objection to the interim study findings.”
The story goes onto to state; “Patients were misled, investors were misled,” says Nissen. “It is so critically important that investors and other people understand why early data in a trial are unreliable or unstable.”
Sure enough investors were hurt, that is investors in Orexigen who are seeing shares get hammered today.
Now just once we wish the good doctor would disclose his holdings plus all his consulting arrangements. Like it or not, and no we don’t like it, but there are people who actually listen to the good doctor taking his word as the gospel. This in spite of the fact the controversy that brought him into the public spotlight has shown he’s not always on the mark. Yes after turning the diabetes drug world upside down after his now infamous Avandia meta-analysis, his finds were basically debunked. Yes it took some time but the collateral damage had been inflicted already and the diabetes drug world has changed, not for the better, since.
Far be it from Diabetic Investor to suggest that the good doctor must be as pure as a new snow fall, however the good doctor certainly gets in a tizzy anytime someone questions his judgement. Back when the Avandia controversy was ragging like an out of control forest fire, Diabetic Investor called for the good doctor to do what any other professional does, that is disclose his holdings, his consulting relationships and any other financial arrangements. Again we don’t mean to imply the good doctor is influenced by money but without knowing what his relationships are how do we know. All the good doctor has to do is come clean and disclose his relationships and put an end to any suggestion of impropriety.
Listen over the past few days everyone has been racking Tom Brady over the coals because he did not hand over his emails and text messages while the NFL investigated how this QB likes his balls inflated. The same goes for Hillary Clinton whose getting an equal amount of grief over donations to the Clinton Foundation. The fact is people aren’t stupid and don’t like it when they have been misled or lied too. The fact is even if they are completely innocent the fact that they did not come clean makes them look guilty.
Just to be clear here so there is no misunderstanding we are not suggesting that the good doctor has been bought or influenced by his relationships, we just want to know what those relationships are. It’s called full disclosure Steve, about time you got with the program.
