Free Republic

Enterprise: When a great American company offers a medicine that lengthens the lives of hundreds of millions of people, you might think politicians would say thank you. Instead they say: How dare you advertise it.Pfizer has just been pressured by Congress into dropping its main ad campaign for the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, arguably the most popular medicine in the world and with very good reason. Lipitor can lower the deadly artery-clogging substance by as much as 60% and, when combined with regular exercise and a low-fat diet, prevents heart attacks and sudden deaths. Companies who do so much for so...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc said Monday it was voluntarily withdrawing advertising for its Lipitor cholesterol drug featuring Dr. Robert Jarvik, inventor of the Jarvik artificial heart, because its ads led to "misimpressions." ads involving Jarvik had come under scrutiny, including from a House Committee as part of an investigation into celebrity endorsements of prescription medicines. Democratic lawmakers had voiced concern that Jarvik's qualifications were misrepresented in widely seen television commercials touting the blockbuster drug. They said he seemed to be dispensing medical advice even though he is not a practicing physician. On his Web site, Jarvik describes himself...

Dr. Robert Jarvik is known as the inventor of the artificial heart more than 20 years ago. More recently he’s known as the pitchman for Lipitor, a top-selling cholesterol-lowering drug. Now Dr. Jarvik is known as the man congressional investigators want to talk to about his work for drug maker Pfizer, maker of Lipitor. At $12 billion in sales a year, it’s the best selling drug in the world. Dr. Jarvik tells the television audience in the ads, “I’m glad I take Lipitor, as a doctor and a dad.” The problem is that Dr. Jarvik is not licensed to practice...