Ed Kensik02.22.06
The Cleveland Clinic may be distancing itself from a medical-device company following national scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest, but work on the firm's product named for the hospital's chief executive and another heart surgeon is moving forward, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
In a conference call Friday, David Drachman, chief executive of AtriCure, said the clinic had withdrawn from a clinical trial and suspended a training program involving AtriCure products.
Dr. A. Marc Gillinov, a clinic heart surgeon, said that he withdrew from the trial because it involved too few patients for a significant effort. The training program on atrial fibrillation was not canceled, he said, although one session was because of a scheduling conflict.
Drachman could not be reached for comment.
AtriCure, a West Chester, Ohio-based company that once counted Clinic chief Dr. Toby Cosgrove as a member of its board of directors, makes devices to treat atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heart rhythm that can cause strokes.
During the call, Drachman disclosed the Clinic's actions and similar moves by the University of Cincinnati. He said he believes AtriCure's current operations and sales have been "negatively impacted" by recent Wall Street Journal articles, including one that "raised concerns of conflict of interest" between the clinic and AtriCure. After the call, AtriCure's stock fell 22%.
A December Wall Street Journal article examined Cosgrove's relationship with AtriCure and his role as general partner of a venture capital firm invested in the company. Cosgrove said at the time that he had not received any money and had directed future profits to the Clinic. Gillinov's work as a paid consultant to AtriCure also was noted in the Journal piece.