Dr Jarvik Exposed as not being so Doctorish
wacky finds
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I’m sure you’re all familiar with Dr. Jarvik, the creator of the artificial heart. He’s the guy on all of Pfizer’s Lipitor commercials blabbing about how he invented the artificial heart and then he goes off running with his son or he rows a boat down a river… Or does he?
Pfizer is now under intense scrutiny by the media and the U.S. Congress because they actually used a Stunt Double to perform the boat rowing scene in the commercial that we’re all familiar with that boasts the health benefits of taking Lipitor. Dr. Jarvik, who portrays himself on the commercial as being just a step or two away from competing in the X Games on ESPN, didn’t even have the energy to row a boat for a few seconds during a commercial.
Speaking of DOCTOR Jarvik… He is not licensed, or qualified, to practice medicine in any of the US States. Here’s a blurb from the WSJ Health Blog regarding Jarvik’s qualifications.
“NBC's science guru Robert Bazell wrote last year that while Jarvik is an M.D., he doesn't have "the strongest credentials." His grades as an undergrad at Syracuse University weren't good enough for U.S. med school, so he attended the University of Bologna in Italy, leaving after two years. In 1976, Jarvik graduated from the University of Utah's med school, but he never did an internship or practiced medicine, Bazell wrote.”
Personally, this does't have any affect on my life because I am not in the market for medicines like Lipitor. But I just think it’s funny how almost everything out there is a marketing game. I see his commercials all of the time, so finding out this bit of information made me chuckle.
WSJ Health Blog
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/07/
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on 2/8/2008
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