No more Jarvik ads

Posted: Monday, February 25, 2008 6:16 PM by Sam Singal

By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent

For more than two years, the ads have been a frequent presence on many television programs including ours.

Dr. Robert Jarvik, the inventor of the Jarvik Seven artificial heart has been extolling the virtues of Lipitor, a cholesterol lowering drug. Lipitor is in fact the world's best selling drug with sales exceeding $12 billion a year.

But today Pfizer which makes the drug announced it is pulling the ads.

In a letter to Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a Pfizer representative said: "Unfortunately, the way Dr. Jarvik was presented in these ads has created misimpressions and distractions" from Pfizer's primary goals of reducing heart disease.

I knew Dr. Jarvik when I covered the artificial heart operations in the early 1980s. I recounted his qualifications in an article for this website last year.

I pointed out that Jarvik was not a practicing physician. After graduating from college he was admitted to the University of Bologna medical school. He left there, got a degree in biomechanical engineering and then went to work on artificial organs at the University of Utah, where he eventually received an M.D., but never practiced medicine.

That article was followed by an investigation by Dingell's committee -- and an article in the New York Times which pointed out that one of the ads, featuring Jarvik allegedly rowing a scull, was in fact played by an actor.

Pfizer announced its decision to pull the ads in this letter sent today to the House Committee.

Rep. Dingell who was expressed interest in the entire concept of consumer advertising of prescription drugs called Pfizer's decision to withdraw the ads "a wise one."

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Comments

Brian Williams,
So, who cares if Dr. Jarvik makes distractions on the commericials and ads in magazines. Pfizer should not have pulled the drug just because of that. The drug actually works especially my father. People need that drug to help increasethe rate of death from heart disease, etc.

Bridget,New Jersey,Fanwood (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 6:58 PM)

Your news story tonight about Jarvik was cryptic and unintelligible. Robert Bazell's blog explains the "issue" more fully but one might ask..."does the inventor of an artificial heart have less credibility than an actor in another drug company ad?" I mean who cares? Caveat Emptor.

Joe Nicholson (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 7:04 PM)

Delightful. Now if we can get the drug companies to pull their other ads, we can clean up TV. Sally Field and Boniva, say goodnight. The ED guys, adios. Valtrex and herpes, bonsoir. And all those other people with every kind of malady known to humans that this drug or that potion will cure, take a hike.

Once we get this job done we can move on to the next scourge of the airways, the on-screen graphic ad.

Steve Sedlis, Boston, MA (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 7:18 PM)

Mr. Williams: As a former NBC employee, I am still proud of the high standard of NBC News reporting and I choose to watch Nightly News each evening because of you and NBC. Your reporting this evening regarding Pfizer's ubiquitous Lipitor commercial leaves me VERY disturbed. Rather than your 'misleading impressions' statement about the Pfizer commercial , the public needs to know EXACTLY what was 'misleading'! Why bother with the story at all, if the content doesn't include what has been in the headlines most of today. Is it possible that Pfizer's purchase of commercial time has somehow influenced choice of words?

Peg Krents (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 7:22 PM)

After reading this article I am now aware of why the ads were "pulled". Your nightly news broadcast on this subject left me asking the question..."and".
It appeared that this segment on the newscast was a "filler" and NBC ran out of time.

Bob Hanna, Bluffton, South Carolina (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 7:41 PM)

Dear Mr. Bazell it was nice to read your post. I wish the US Government would ban ALL of that medical advertising on-line, on-air, on-radio and in-print.

If I see the "Viva Viagra!" commercial once more I may have a coronary myself. Your competitor station has Sunday night sports on and the announcement last night was XYZ & Viagra Sports.

How much is all this advertising costing Americans? Everyone seems to be on a pill for something! What about diet and exercise and heaven forbid giving up sex at 90 a few days before you die?

I remember the day the only thing you had to worry about on TV was Jane Russell and the "18 Hour Bra." It seems like things were much quieter and gentler then.

Anna (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 8:54 PM)

FINALLY!!! these are the most annoying out of all the drug ads...

Monroe, LA (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 9:12 PM)

And I was hoping that you would say the real reason the ads got pulled is because Pfizer realized that its not in the best interest of patients to parade medications in front of them all time, creating hypochondriacs out of an entire nation! Good thing I didn't get my hopes up that a corporation would actually put its clientèle first, rather than profits!

Stephanie-Umbro, Maine (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 9:59 PM)

the last line says they are pulling the drug. I think they are just pulling the ad!

Dan Juraska Binghamton NY (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:17 AM)

Mr. Juraska -
Thank you for catching that mistake - we corrected the error.

Sam Singal (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:09 AM)

How do I go about forwarding an e mail to you re: The Pledge of Allegiance which was explained by our dearly departed and much loved comedian Red Skelton as told to him by one of his teachers when Red was a young man. This is something that every American should hear.
vsabatino@aquariussales.com

Vincent Sabatino (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:17 AM)

I wrote Jarvik himself to tell him that I, as a pathology transcriber, thought it unseemly for him to be making those commercials, that I was familiar with his artificial heart tho had not done any reports on their use here in Houston in quite some time. He never bothered to reply. I am glad that the ads will disappear.

barbara shaidnagle Houston Texas (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 9:13 AM)

Mr. Bazell I would like to shout "AMEN". I know of 3 reasons to pull all drug ads: (1)Too much information for young children,my grandchild asked me why someone would pee on a thermoter? You can change the channel but not the ads. (2)They raise the prices of the drugs. (3) People ask their doctors and try them, next thing you know, the drug has been pulled. Now those people who tried them because of the ads, may not have ever used them had they not been on TV.
Thanks Teri

Teri Colclasure, Bryant, AR (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:29 PM)

Looks like someone forgot to "donate" to the democrats. Bet they'll never make their buddies the trial lawyers stop advertising on TV.

Dave, Tn (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 1:08 PM)

ALL drug companies need to spend there dollars on education and prevention instead of advertising. I'm sick and tired of watching them! (Is there a formal medical term for that and a drug to treat that?)

The government needs to step in and get America's healthcare system on a different track because this one isn't working.

Donna Wirth, Red Bud, IL (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 1:56 PM)

Brian,

Ask a question to the canidates with regard to changing the US Constitution...Would they change the electoral college to a fully democratic process of a popular vote. Just think how different the country would be in Nixon and Bush were never President of this great land. Both lost the popular vote.

Mark W. Youngstown Ohio (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 3:29 PM)

Withdrawing the ads was wise.

Jamie, Salt Lake, Utah (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 4:15 PM)

Where did all the better coments on the subject of qualtiy medical care go? But then again, quality medicine is provided by men & women of integrity who give a genuine dam so the more appropiate question should be Where did all the caring health care workers go?

Ralph Grimaldi (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:36 PM)

Now, if Dr. Jarvik's appearance in this ad after two years caused a stir to the company... let the public scream about the horrible and unneccessarily verbally graphic commercials about Viagra. I'm sick of seeing men sing and dance because they can... you know. We're even offended by those ads of other prescription meds naming the list of long side effect possibilities including unusually long erection times (can't that just be discussed in the doctor's office?!). Even First Response pregnancy testers' ad need revamping or a good pull from the airwaves - it's absolutely disgusting. So, if Dr. Jarvik's presence disturbed Pfizer, I think the other companies should really evaluate their truly disturbing ads as they run during family viewing times.

T. Rice, Midlothian VA (Sent Tuesday, February 26, 2008 11:01 PM)

Certain swear words are banned on network television, as is open drug use in certain contexts, the smoking of cigarettes, and nudity. Yet every night during the evening news I can hear about drugs for both urination and bowel movement disorders, I can see ads for "personal lubricants", and of course the ubiquitous ED and birth control remedies. It is not difficult to see where the bias lies, and why.

When pharmaceutical companies are questioned about their obscenely high prices and profits, they inevitably answer that without this money they could not fund future research for more medcines, and so we will all suffer. Yet here are Sally Field, Mandy Patinkin and Patrick Stewart (to name a few) pimping various prescription medications.

Television advertising of these medications was a bad idea from the start and should be strictly limited, if not banned entirely. A doctor who never practiced medicine, as a spokesman for medicine, is a situation which barely scratches the surface of the problem.

Carla Jasper, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 12:17 AM)

Just because Dr. Jarvik is not in the medicinal feild, does not mean that the commercials should be pulled. No. They should simply allow the continuation of the ads. To not tell the general public about the drug could cause people who need it to never know about it.

Donovan Rockwell, Anniston, Alabama (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 3:35 PM)

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