Topol toppled?

Less than a week after his videotaped lambasting of Merck was played in a Houston federal courthouse, Dr. Eric Topol, a prominent cardiologist, has lost his title as chief academic officer of the Cleveland Clinic's medical college.

Topol said Friday that he believed his demotion may be related to his testimony in that case, the third Vioxx lawsuit to reach trial. Topol has questioned Vioxx's safety for several years and said in his testimony, played in court last Saturday that he believed Merck had acted irresponsibly and committed scientific misconduct when it promoted Vioxx.

"The hardest thing in the world is just trying to tell the truth, to do the right thing for patients, and you get vilified," Topol said Friday. "No wonder nobody stands up to the industry."

Topol will remain the chief of cardiology at the clinic, a prestigious nonprofit health system with almost $4 billion in annual revenue, and the loss of his title as chief academic officer does not affect his salary. But he will lose his position on the clinic's governing board. His job change was first reported Friday by The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Topol did not offer specific evidence to back his allegation. Eileen Sheil, a spokeswoman for the clinic, said that Topol was not being punished for his Vioxx testimony. Topol lost his title as part of a broader administrative reorganization, Sheil said.

"The organization made the decision that that position was no longer needed," she said.

Insider says: Look how Dr Topol was described in the most recent Merck Vioxx trial!

Mercks' lawyer Phillip Beck depicted Topol as self-important and "the kind of guy who doesn't like to be contradicted and has an ax to grind."

That would be Insiders' definition of most, if not all, academic cardiologists!

However, Dr Topol has shown courage in speaking out. Insider salutes him and urges him to continue to dig for the whole truth about Vioxx.

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