Honestly, civil justice fans, tracking medical device maker Medtronic in the news is beginning to feel a little like watching the tabs during the Britney Spears “spiraling” period (here, here, here).
Last week, there was a front page New York Times story about a Walter Reed surgeon who was on the payroll of Medtronic when he published a “study” that made false claims and grossly inflated the benefits of the company’s bone-growth product, “Infuse,” in treating wounded soldiers in Iraq.
Now, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who really does seem to hate this sort of influence peddling/behind-the-scenes hokum (here, here, here) has launched another one of his letter writing campaigns to get to the bottom of it.
The Justice Department has also been investigating—specifically to see whether Medtronic “illegally promoted uses of Infuse that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration—by paying doctors, among other alleged measures.”
It's just seems unethical to promote a medical device company without conviction and no solid claim to true advancement.
Posted by: Ajlouny | May 24, 2009 at 09:26 PM