Dear chani,
you wrote "Dr Kim (if that is who you are talking about) also left".
Well, his name is not Kim. He is Howell, the one that, someone wrote "taught ODAC", has always been the medical authority for DepoTech, has always been on its Board reviewing the really big things several times a year (like an NDA). And he IS the Medical Director (check, again records), although he holds his university position tight (just in case?).
He and Chiron's Cowens (the other MD) were the ones who failed to convince, indirectly or directly, even 1 out of 10 of their quite knowledgeable oncologist colleagues that DepoCyt would benefit patients and they should prescribe it when they see a someone with carcinomatous meningitis.
It really does not matter who runs the clinical trials. That's a routine job, you don't need an MD for that. The medical opinion on the drug is what ultimately matters. Convincing the drug advisory committee is the most important if not the single role of a medical director. Like the brain surgeon who makes a single cut. Everything else is done by the supporting team. But that cut is life or death, and the purpose of the whole process. Depo and Chiron probably tested Howell and Cowens and found Cowens better for this crucial task.
Regards,
StockDoc |
