Vioxx critic Topol and the scandal

Dr. Eric Topol, a prominent cardiologist and vocal critic of Merck's Vioxx strategy, is now being charged with conflict of interest by Fortune Magazine. Dr. Topol has written articles in medical journal accusing the FDA and Merck of not following proper procedures for testing and approving Vioxx, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans over the years.

Fortune Magazine is now reporting that Dr. Topol was advising a hedge fund that eventually shorted Merck stock (Explanations: An investor shorts a stock when she/he expects it to go down. A hedge fund is a group of investors that take very high level of risk and often invest billions of dollars.).

In our opinion, even a six-year old would have recommended shorting the Merck stock since the data was all over the place that Vioxx should have never been approved or at least should have been withdrawn as soon as problems started.

While Dr. Topol has presented solid arguments why Merck should have withdrawn Vioxx a long time ago, he should have also disclosed his affiliation with the hedge fund. He has been right all along but it would have been nice to know that he may have advised the hedge fund that Merck was a company with a lot of trouble ahead. But even an average person in the medical community knew that for years and the hedge fund would have shorted the stock any way, Topol's advice or not. We wonder if this is just another trick being played to discredit Dr. Topol.

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