Senate Finance
Committee Questions Medtronic Over Payments to Doctors
Splashed across this morning’s Wall Street Journal was an
article that made me sit up and take notice.
Medtronic, the manufacturer of the Infuse bone graft, is being
questioned by the Senate Finance Committee.
After pouring through thousands of documents, the Senate Finance
Committee released a report concluding Medtronic was "heavily involved in
drafting, editing and shaping the content of medical journal articles."
The problem is these medical journal articles provided the
basis for FDA approval, as did doctor speeches to the FDA. According to the Senate Finance Committee’s
report, Medtronic paid $210 million to the doctors who authored these medical
journal articles. Additionally, the
doctor who spoke on their behalf admitted to the committee that Medtronic wrote
his recommendation, paid him as a consultant for the year, and made him an
executive afterwards.
Scientific Challenges
to Medtronic Studies Prompted Senate Report
The Senate Finance Committee’s report questions the
integrity of the clinical trials, but medical professionals have already
questioned the scientific data included in these studies.
In 2011, Eugene
Carragee, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Stanford University School of
Medicine, published the study that inspired the Senate Finance Committee
inquiries. In his study, published in The Spine Journal, Carragee questioned
13 Medtronic studies in which it appeared the company did not list seriouscomplications associated with Infuse and its sister drug called Amplify, which
has yet to gain FDA approval.
Consumers Are
Concerned
Given the increased speculation and now two
government investigations into Medtronic Infuse, consumers have begun to
question whether their injuries were known about previously. Was Medtronic aware of any side effects of
its Infuse product? If you have been injured by your Medtronic Infuse bone
graft, you should contact a skilled product liability attorney today.