OMM Newsroom
China has dismissed two medical researchers and disciplined five senior hospital officials after an investigation into a controversial gene therapy study involving the death of a child, according to findings released Friday.
Anadolu Agency reported that the investigation examined research conducted at Xinhua Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The inquiry was reported by Chinese news outlet The Paper.
The researchers, identified by the surnames Qiu and Yang, were dismissed, barred from taking part in research projects or receiving awards for five years, and placed on a national research integrity blacklist. Yang was an associate researcher at the hospital and the study’s first co-author.
Five senior hospital officials also received disciplinary penalties, including demotions and formal warnings.
Investigators found failures in safety assessments, ethical reviews and disclosure of risks associated with the experimental treatment.
The inquiry found that the child’s family had provided 5.337 million yuan ($750,000) in research funding, while researchers received additional money and gifts.
However, investigators said they found no evidence that data had been fabricated in the research paper published in the scientific journal “Nature”.
The findings were released by a Shanghai municipal investigation team following an inquiry launched in July.
