The Infinite Mind’s Bill Lichtenstein Responds to Fred Goodwin

This is in response to the statement Fred Goodwin made that I posted several days ago. (The site is undergoing a redesign; please be patient if we go offline in the next couple days or hours.) Again, to remind everyone in the interest of full disclosure, I was on the radio show once and was asked to be on once more. I met Bill Lichtenstein, president of LCMedia, a couple times in person.

I am writing as executive producer of the national, weekly public radio series, The Infinite Mind, in response to the statement posted [on The Trouble With Spikol] from Dr. Fred Goodwin regarding the disclosures in the November 22, 2008 New York Times article that Goodwin, former host of The Infinite Mind, had accepted $1.2 million to speak on behalf of the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Most of Goodwin’s statement attacks the New York Times’ Gardiner Harris for his reporting. In doing so, Goodwin adds Harris, a seasoned New York Times reporter, to the growing list of people, including Sen. Grassley, whom Goodwin claims have not gotten the story straight.

The issue at the heart of The Infinite Mind matter is Goodwin’s admitted acceptance of $1.2 million in fees from GlaxoSmithKline from 2000 to 2008 to speak on behalf of the drug company. According to the November 22, 2008 New York Times article that first disclosed Dr. Goodwin’s activities (“Radio Host has Drug Company Ties”), this included giving talks to medical professionals on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline at such locations as steak houses and resorts.

The New York Times article reported Dr. Goodwin’s disclosure (or lack of disclosure) as a “he said/she said” situation, with Goodwin asserting that I, as executive producer, was aware of his activities, and my denial at no point was I aware of the work he was doing behalf of GlaxoSmithKline. However, to date, reporters have failed to press Goodwin for any proof of his claim that he disclosed his activities, nor has Goodwin produced any evidence or basis in fact to support his claim that he disclosed his activities. The fact is he didn’t, despite strict conflict of interest and disclosure language in his contract (See signed June 12, 2006 contract posted on-line at http://www.LCMedia.com/agreement.pdf )

At the same time, Goodwin’s position with regard to his conflict of interest has changed almost daily.

On December 2, 2008, the “GW Hatchet” (the student newspaper at George Washington University where Dr. Goodwin teaches) reported that Goodwin denied that there had been a conflict of interest, and he essentially proposed a novel concept of conflict of interest: “I frankly do not see these things as a conflict of interest. It was my judgment,” said Goodwin. “Like most experts in my field, I have relationships as a consultant with a number of pharmaceutical companies. I’ve always thought that if you have multiple relationships they sort of cancel each other out.”

Additionally, the “GW Hatchet” reported that “[Goodwin] maintains he did not violate any contracts with ‘The Infinite Mind’ because . . . it was never required for him to disclose information,” despite the fact that his signed contract included strict language with regard to his disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest.

The “GW Hatchet” also reported that Goodwin said Sen. Charles Grassley was mistaken when he asserted, based on GlaxoSmithKline records, that Goodwin had received $1,226,300 in speaking fees and $117,300 in travel reimbursement from the pharmaceutical company. Goodwin now maintains he received less than $1 million from GlaxoSmithKline. Goodwin also disputes the New York Times‘ inclusion of travel fees as part of his “compensation” from GlaxoSmithKline, to which New York Times reporter, Gardiner Harris, replied, “I think most people would see travel expenses to very nice places as a benefit worthy of citing.”

On December 9, 2008, the prestigious British Medical Journal published an article on this matter, in which Goodwin again asserted there had been no conflict of interest in his accepting pharmaceutical fees while hosting The Infinite Mind. The journal reported that “besides GlaxoSmithKline [Goodwin] has been paid by Pfizer, Solvay, Janssen, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He said he believed that this cancelled out the possible influence of any one company.” (See British Medical Journal article at: http://www.LCMedia.com/BMJ.pdf )

Finally, Dr. Goodwin cites The Infinite Mind’s hiring of another primary host from 2004 to 2006 as an indication that we were aware he was working for pharmaceutical companies. In fact, we were aware of Goodwin’s prior research funded by the pharmaceutical industry, which according to Goodwin ended in 2001, and that Goodwin spoke at Continuing Medical Education programs sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, which are highly regulated with regard to conflicts of interest. Goodwin continued to guest host programs during this period, and when Goodwin returned to the program as primary host in 2006, he negotiated and signed the contract that provided he disclose any possible conflicts of interest, including those going back to 1997, which he failed to do.

liz | 11:11 AM | Uncategorized