The Cleveland Clinic named cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen as an interim replacement for Dr. Eric Topol, who left his post as head of cardiovascular medicine last week over a feud with Clinic CEO Delios "Toby" Cosgrove. The promotion just may make Nissen the most powerful cardiologist in the country, at least for now. In March he is scheduled to assume the role of President of the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Nissen is a relative rarity, The Wall Street Journal notes, in that he has been able to maintain a productive relationship with major pharmaceutical companies while raising questions about the safety of certain problem drugs. Like Topol, Nissen was a vocal a critic of the safety of the Cox-2 class last year. He also co-authored a JAMA article raising questions about the diabetes drug Pargluva. Last week, Nissen was the "mover" in the drive on a federal advisory panel to issue a black box warning for ADHD drugs on the basis of evidence suggesting cardiovascular risks. Still, the newspaper reports, Nissen remains an active participant in industry sponsored clinical trials, leading the scientific efforts to assess Sanofi's Acomplia, Pfizer's HDL drug torceptripib and AstraZeneca's cholesterol drug Crestor.
- see this New York Times article
- see this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)
