Profession
Gene therapy case settled
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 14, 2005
The U.S. government in February announced a settlement with two research institutions and three individual researchers stemming from alleged false statements made during a 1999 gene therapy trial that led to a teenager's death.
The University of Pennsylvania, where the gene therapy trial took place, agreed to pay more than $517,000 and Children's National Medical Center, which assisted with the trial, agreed to pay more than $514,000, said Patrick L. Meehan, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The three researchers named in the case also will have restrictive controls placed on their future research, Meehan said.
The gene therapy trial focused on the development of a new drug to treat an enzyme deficiency. Jesse Gelsinger, an 18-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., died during the Phase I study.
The settlement is not an admission of guilt.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/03/14/prbf0314.htm.
