The City University of New York is halting a university investigation of a faculty member accused of misconduct against an Alzheimer’s researcher. said in a statement on Friday.
The study, conducted by neuroscientist, Hou-Yan Wang, supports the Alzheimer’s drug in advanced clinical trials. The drug, simufilum, is made by cassava scienceA pharmaceutical company based in Texas. Dr. Wang often collaborated with Lindsay H. Burns, the company’s chief scientist.
“Because questions have been raised about the confidentiality and integrity of this investigation, CUNY will pause the underlying investigation into the allegations related to Dr. Wang’s research until the university has completed a comprehensive investigation of the process,” the university said.
Dr. Wang did not respond to a request for comment.
“As of September 2021, Cassava Sciences awaits a credible and credible investigation from CUNY,” Cassava founder and chief executive Remi Barbier said in an email. “We’re still waiting.”
From the beginning, some scientists were skeptical of simufilum’s purported mode of action and subsequent reports of improvement by cassava among its clinical trial participants. Following allegations in 2021 that Dr. Wang and Cassava had manipulated data, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Institutes of Health began investigating the research.
A committee convened by CUNY also began an investigation into Dr. Wang’s two decades of work and the financial condition of his laboratory.
On October 12, the journal Science made public A draft of the committee’s report, which concluded that Dr. Wang was “negligent” in his failure to keep or provide original data, an offense that “equivalent to significant research misconduct.” (Investigators also concluded that Dr. Burns was responsible for errors in some of the papers.)
CUNY declined to comment on the document at the time but said it would formally release the report this month. Since then, critics have questioned the impartiality of the investigators and the veracity of their descriptions of Dr. Wang’s reactions to the investigation.
On Friday, the university declined to comment on the allegations beyond its official statement.
“Consistent with its policy, CUNY will not comment on the accuracy of the investigations referenced in the articles as no final action has been taken on this investigation,” the statement said.
“CUNY is committed to ensuring that its investigative processes are based on the highest procedural and ethical standards and that the fairness of the proceedings is preserved for all parties,” the university said. “To that end, any findings regarding allegations of research misconduct must be credible and reliable.”
