The Cholesterol Guidelines Panel And Conflicts Of Interest

Earlier this week, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology released new guidelines that will dramatically change the calculus for prescribing cholesterol-lowering medicines. And while there is debate about the extent to which prescribing habits will change quickly, the big winners are expected to be drugmakers that sell statins, since other types of pills were not recommended (back story). However, here is an interesting note. Of the 15 panelists that authored these new guidelines, six reported having recent or current ties to drugmakers that already sell or are developing cholesterol medications. And among the half dozen who disclosed these relationships was one of the two panel co-chairs, which contradicts an Institute of Medicine suggestion about managing conflicts on such panels. Each of the six panelists disclosed they worked as a consultant and received funding for personal research. And among the 10 expert reviewers, half listed consulting relationships. Among the companies cited are Merck, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Amarin, Roche and Abbott Laboratories, although its cholesterol pills are now sold by AbbVie, which was spun off last year (the disclosures can be seen on pages 51 - 57 of the guidelines).     The financial ties may concern some, while others may shrug off the disclosure. Certainly, the issue of financial conflicts of interest has been debated for a while amid fears that such relationships may unduly influence decision mak...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs