Fraud and Misconduct In Clinical Trials
Slides and script were developed by Professor J Karlberg and read by Mr. J Thorburn
Clinical Trials Centre The University of Hong Kong
Fraud
Deception carried out for the purpose of achieving personal gain while causing injury to another party.
Misconduct
Dishonest or bad management, especially by persons entrusted or engaged to act on another's behalf.
The effect of Fraud and Misconduct
The same
questionable clinical trial data the data may not be used for drug regulatory purposes
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
Fraud or Misconduct?
Examples Scientific Fraud by Researchers In Publications
2002 One researcher Fabricated data
Retraction Nature, 13 publications Science, 10 publications Others, 4 publications
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
2004 Duplicate publishing 30-40% of text identical
In February 2003, we identified protocols and protocol amendments for randomized trials by reviewing paper files from clinical studies approved by the Scientific-Ethical Committees for Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, Denmark, in 1994-1995. Trials with at least 1 identified journal article were included in the study. One hundred two trials with 122 published journal articles and 3736 outcomes 50% of efficacy and 65% of safety outcomes were incompletely reported 62% of trials had at least 1 primary outcome that was changed, introduced, or omitted
Fraud or Misconduct?
Example Scientific Fraud by a Sponsor
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
US FDA approved the drug in 1999, and the drug was withdrawn in 2004 due to excess risk of cardiovascular side effects. The trial data was not published until 2000 and the publication did not include details about the side effects.
Fraud or Misconduct?
Scientific Fraud In Publications Very difficult to identify Some Recent Actions
Editor-in-Chief, JAMA Editor-in-Chief, New England Journal of Medicine Editor, The New Zealand Medical Journal Editor-in-Chief, Norwegian Medical Journal Editor, CMAJ Editor, The Lancet Executive Editor, MEDLINE Senior Deputy Editor, Annals of Internal Medicine Editor, Croatian Medical Journal Executive Editor, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde Editor, Journal of the Danish Medical Association Editor, Annals of Internal Medicine Editor, The Medical Journal of Australia
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
Fraud or Misconduct?
Scientific Fraud In Clinical Trials Sponsor Audits During the conduct of a trial Regulatory Authority Inspections After completion of a trial
Sep 1, 2004 Pyotr G. Platonov, Sergei Varshavsky Applied Clinical Trials
Review of 10 years US FDA Inspections
In total, data from 3178 inspections whose files have been closed with a final classification as of 4 May, 2004 were reviewed. Country
Western Europe 230 Central & Eastern Europe 37 Australia, New Zealand, Canada 82
Latin America 30 Asia 8 USA Africa 24 Number of inspections 2765
Sep 1, 2004 Pyotr G. Platonov, Sergei Varshavsky Applied Clinical Trials
Review of 10 years US FDA Inspections
No Action 37.5% 1190 75 1911
Official Action 2.4%
Voluntary Action 60.2%
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Sep 1, 2004 Pyotr G. Platonov, Sergei Varshavsky Applied Clinical Trials
Review of 10 years US FDA Inspections
Voluntary or Official Actions Failure to obtain consent 8
Inadequate consent
84
Inadequate drug accountability
51
Failure to adhere to protocol
145
Inadequate and incorrect records
163
Failure to report adverse reactions
75
Other deficiencies
74 Number of deficits
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
FDA Warning Letters
IRB Institutional Review Board
EC Ethics Committee
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
FDA Warning Letters
Pre-clinical Laboratory
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
FDA Warning Letters
Investigators
1. Failure to obtain FDA approval 2. Failure to follow the conditions imposed by the IRB and failure to report adverse events to the IRB 3. Failure to obtain adequate informed consent 4. Failure to prepare and maintain accurate, complete, and current records relating to your conduct of the investigation Within 15 days, you should respond to this letter in writing. You should be aware that FDA considers your actions to be violations of the law which may result in FDA taking enforcement action without further notice to you.
1. FAILURE TO CONDUCT YOUR STUDIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE APPROVED PROTOCOL 2. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AND ACCURATE RECORDS 3. FAILURE TO OBTAIN INFORMED CONSENT FROM STUDY SUBJECTS 4. FAILURE TO INFORM THE IRB OF CHANGES TO THE PROTOCOL
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FDA Actions
Investigators
Disqualification Fully restricted Restricted
Number of Investigators 47 19 8 1964-1969 1980-1989 Year 24 11 2000-2005
Disqualified or totally restricted clinical Investigators who are not eligible to receive investigational products. N=95 Restricted N=14
Name Address BENNETT ROBIN, MD SILVER SPRING, MD KATHLEEN E ROBERTS, MD SAN FRANCISCO, CA LEO CASS, MD CAMBRIDGE, MA WILLIAM A ABRUZZI JR, MD WAPPINGERS FALS, NY LEO LOWE, MD NEW YORK, NY SAMUEL SPLITTER, MD HAMPSTEAD, NY SHELDON R BENDER, MD PHILADELPHIA, PA
Action Date 1964 1964 1965 1966 1966 1968 1969
JAMES A. HALIKAS MINNEAPOLIS, MN HUIBERT M VRIESENDORP, MD MARSHFIELD, WI CAREY L. QUARLES, PHD WELLINGTON, CO EDUARDO CARO ACEVEDO, MD BAYAMON, PR LEON C. LaHAYE, MD LAFAYETTE, LA ALLYN M. NORMAN, DO, GETZVILLE, NY CHAVARAMPLAKIL P. MATHEW, MD, NEW ORLEANS, LA ROY C. PAGE, MD MEMPHIS, TN CARL ANDREW DeABATE, MD WASHINGTON, DC EUGENIA MARCUS, MD, NEWTON, MA ROGER D. ANDERSON, MD PITTSBURGH, PA
2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2004 2004 2005
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GCP Training One Way to Prevent Fraud and Misconduct
Study sites established regions Study sites established regions
Drug development has become a global activity
ICH GCP Guideline
1980
1990
1996
Year official GCP Guideline established
Fenn (2001) International Journal of Pharmaceutical Medicine;15(4):169-173
US Germany UK Nordic Countries France EC Australia WHO ICH GCP Japan Korea Taiwan Singapore China Thailand Indonesia Hong Kong Hon Kong Philippines
1980 1987 1988 1989 1990 1990 1991 1993 1996 1985 1995 1996 1998 1999 2001 2001
2004 2004
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On the 1st of May 2004, the Directive 2001/20/EC on clinical research became law across the 25 member states of the European Union. The European Union Directive 2001/20/EC, dated 4 April 2001, is concerned with 'the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the implementation of Good Clinical Practice in the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products for human use'.
2004, the Directive 2001/20/EC
Training of Investigators and Clinical Research Teams Principal Investigators will be legally required to send their qualifications and any GCP training or experience obtained from work with clinical trials to the local thics committees is for opinion on their suitability to conduct clinical trials. Details of training sessions must be recorded by the Investigator and the members of the research team.
State FDA, Beijing SFDA provides GCP accreditation of study sites in China and Hong Kong. The site must submit an application to SFDA. After inspection GCP accreditation may be granted.
2004 Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
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2004, Globally n=660
Yes, mandatory Investigators Monitors GCP Inspectors GCP Auditors Co-investigators Research Nurses Ethics Committee Members Medical Statisticians 35.4 Percentage 85.1 82.3 82.1 80.0 71.5 68.8 68.5
Should GCP training be mandatory for any of the following personnel?
Lam WT, Huang JQ, Karlberg J. 2004
GCP Training Clinical Trials Centre The University of Hong Kong Master Degree (400 hours) Diploma Degree (200 hours) Certificate Degree (100 hours)
CTCs Master Degree Students
Cumulative number of Master degree applications 62 55 49 37 25 16 4 1997 7 30
1999
2001 Year
2003
2005
Nurse 11.3%
Dr 24.2%
Industry 32.3%
Other 32.3%
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GCP Training Clinical Trials Centre The University of Hong Kong GCP Accreditation www.AccredITGCP.com
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