BOSTON – Partners HealthCare and one of its hospitals, Brigham and Women’s, have agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that a BWH stem cell research laboratory fraudulently obtained grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
The lab was operated by Dr. Piero Anversa.
After hearing about research-misconduct allegations in the Anversa laboratory, BWH investigated, then disclosed its concerns to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General and Office of Research Integrity.
BWH then worked with OIG and the Department of Justice to explain the basis for the allegations, the release said.
Through the settlement, allegations were resolved that Anversa, along with Dr. Annarosa Leri and Dr. Jan Kajstura, knew or should have known that the laboratory promulgated and relied upon manipulated and falsified information, including confocal microscope images and carbon-14 age data for cells, in applications submitted for NIH research grant awards concerning the purported ability of stem cells to repair heart damage.
Some of the problems cited by the government with the laboratory’s work included improper protocols, invalid and inaccurately characterized cardiac stem cells, reckless or deliberately misleading record keeping, and discrepancies and/or fabrication of data and images included in applications and publications.
“Individuals and institutions that receive research funding from NIH have an obligation to conduct their research honestly and not to alter results to conform with unproven hypotheses,” Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb said in a statement. “Medical-research fraud not only wastes scarce government resources but also undermines the scientific process and the search for better treatments for serious diseases. We commend Brigham and Women’s for self-disclosing the allegations of fraudulent research at the Anversa laboratory, and for taking steps to prevent future recurrences of such conduct.”
Anversa, Leri and Kajstura are no longer affiliated with BWH.
Last week, Providence-based Care New England signed a letter of intent to join Partners HealthCare.
