Dr. Charles Bennett, Endowed Chair in Medication Safety at South Carolina College of Pharmacy
June 3, 2010
Dr. Charles Bennett was recently appointed as the CoEE Endowed Chair in Medication Safety and Efficacy at the University of South Carolina. In that role, he leads the Center of Economic Excellence in Medication Safety and Efficacy at the Columbia campus of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, a joint academic venture between the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina.
The Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Program uses State Lottery and non-state funds (from corporations, foundations and federal agencies) to create advanced research centers at USC along with Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina. The goal of the CoEE Program is to develop the state’s knowledge-based economy and create high-skill, high-paying jobs for citizens.
Bennett is an international expert in medication safety who founded the company RADAR (Research on Adverse Drug events and Reports). RADAR has identified potentially fatal and previously unreported side effects associated with 43 drugs.
Below, Bennett discusses his research and why he chose to move his work to South Carolina.
LowcountrybizSC:
Why have you decided to come to South Carolina?
Dr. Charles Bennett:
My background as an oncologist with a Ph.D. in public policy has focused my career interests towards working in geographic areas that have strong commitments to improving health care as well as strong needs for these improvements. The Centers of Economic Excellence Program in South Carolina is a model for such an effort in the country.
The commitment to reducing health disparities in pharmaceuticals in South Carolina is tangible—and will serve as a model for other states.
LowcountrybizSC:
How did the state’s CoEE Program play a part in your decision to come?
Dr. Charles Bennett:
The CoEE initiative brings together the correct blend of mission, resources, talent and commitment. My impression is that the cards are aligned to create a Center for Medication Safety and Efficacy that is an international model.
LowcountrybizSC:
Describe the work that will be done by the CoEE in Medication Safety and Efficacy.
Dr. Charles Bennett:
This Center will be building bridges with other CoEEs and other existing programs in the disciplines of medicine, public health, law, engineering, business, sociology and anthropology, for example. The Center is particularly focused on economic return on investment—and will be developing opportunities that have a high likelihood of commercialization. Training is another important milestone. The end result is that the background and foundation to establish a national treasure for pharmaceutical safety and efficacy will be established.
LowcountrybizSC:
Can you give one or two examples of side effects you’ve identified in the past and their relevance to patient safety?
Dr. Charles Bennett:
In 2000, six months after the FDA initially approved Plavix, my research group published in the New England Journal of Medicine an unexpected finding that a rare, but potentially fatal, side effect called TTP occurred within two weeks of starting the drug. This side effect is now described in detail on every television advertisement for Plavix. Widespread recognition of this rare side effect by both patients and clinicians has resulted.
In 2008, I published a lead article in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) that identified an unexpected finding of a 10% increase in mortality when cancer patients received the widely used anti-anemia drugs Procrit and Aranesp. Prior to this publication, these two drugs accounted for $6 billion in annual sales. Following the publication, an estimated 50,000 cancer lives were saved, and the national expenditures on these products decreased in the cancer setting.
LowcountrybizSC:
Do you see the effects of your work reaching beyond South Carolina?
Dr. Charles Bennett:
My Ph.D. in public policy provides me with the skill set to transfer successful efforts from South Carolina to other locations. We have already done this with colorectal cancer screening interventions conducted in Denver, Manhattan and Chicago, for example. These translation efforts are important in an effort to maintain sustainability. With respect to pharmaceutical safety, almost all of my prior safety reports have been incorporated into policies that are carried out throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia.
For more information on South Carolina’s CoEE Program and how your company can benefit, please visit www.sccoee.org.
