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BMJ No 7122 Volume 315 News Saturday 13 December 1997
AMA chief forced to resignThe executive vice president of the American Medical Association, Dr P John Seward, has been forced to resign after the furore surrounding its aborted deal with Sunbeam Corporation. The deal would have provided the association with royalties in exchange for the endorsement of a range of products such as blood pressure monitors and thermometers (23 August, p 445). Dr Seward's resignation was announced just before he was due to face angry members at the association's delegates meeting in Dallas. He is the fifth high ranking executive to have resigned in the fallout from the controversial deal. The association's unilateral cancellation of the contract has resulted in a $20m lawsuit by Sunbeam. Five resolutions relating to the Sunbeam controversy were tabled for the delegates meeting. One of them called for the resignation of both Dr Seward and Dr Thomas Reardon, chairman of the board of trustees, who ordinarily would succeed the chief executive officer on an interim basis. Dr Seward, who took office just over 18 months ago, called the Sunbeam contract "a serious mistake." He said:"This happened on my watch, and I have always accepted that responsibility .... For the last three months every fibre of my being has been committed to repairing the damage and moving ahead with the work of this outstanding institution." The American Medical Association earned a surplus of $14.4m (£9m) in its last financial year. Charles-Gene McDaniel
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