House subcomittee hearing focuses on disciplinary measures for NIH scientists' ethnics violations

NIH officials have not adequately disciplined agency scientists found to have violated ethics rules, members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations said at a hearing last Wednesday (Weiss, Washington Post, 9/14).

Only two of the 44 NIH scientists found to have violated ethics rules on outside consulting agreements with health care companies face possible prosecution for criminal activity, and they remain employed by the agency. Trey Sunderland, chief of the geriatric psychiatry branch at the National Institute of Mental Health, provided Pfizer with human tissue samples in exchange for payments in violation of HHS ethics rules and federal laws, according to a preliminary report released in June by investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Senior NIH researcher Thomas Walsh accepted more than $100,000 in unauthorized fees from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, according to an internal NIH report. The report found that Walsh received outside income from 25 companies from 1999 through 2004 and failed to report the income to NIH. In addition, Walsh led studies sponsored by NIH that involved medication manufactured by some of the companies from which he received fees, according to the report. The other 42 scientists received reprimands or were allowed to retire without punishment (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/13).

NIH Defense

At the hearing, NIH officials denied that they have not adequately disciplined agency scientists found to have violated ethics rules. NIH Deputy Director Raynard Kington said that the agency began administrative actions against 34 of 44 scientists found to have violated ethics rules and referred the other 10 to the HHS Office of Inspector General for possible prosecution. HHS OIG decided to seek prosecution against only Sunderland and Walsh, NIH officials said. They also said that NIH cannot fire Sunderland and Walsh because they are members of the Public Kington said, "When violations were found, NIH implemented sanctions ranging from oral admonishments to letters of reprimand to suspensions. In all cases where individual scientists failed to take (personal) leave to conduct outside activities, they were directed to pay back that leave to the government." He added that NIH currently is "clarifying its policies regarding the presentation of scientific information" to FDA advisory committees (Willman, Los Angeles Times, 9/14). Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) asked NIH officials, "What does it take to get an NIH scientist terminated?" Subcommittee Chair Edward Whitfield (R-Ky.) said, "I do recognize that NIH has taken needed steps to improve its ethics program. But more action is needed" (Washington Post, 9/14).