Brigham and Women's Pays $10 Million for Fraud Allegations

BOSTON - Partners HealthCare and Brigham and Women's Hospital have agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations that a stem cell research laboratory committed fraud in obtaining grant funding, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

It was alleged that Dr. Piero Anversa, along with Dr. Annarosa Leri and Dr. Jan Kajstura, "knew or should have known that their laboratory promulgated and relied upon manipulated and falsified information, including confocal microscope images and carbon-14 age data for cells in applications submitted for [National Institutes of Health] research grant awards concerning the purported ability of stem cells to repair damage to the heart."

Brigham investigated the allegations when it learned of them and reported them to government agencies, the DOJ said. Brigham was cooperative throughout.

The news of Thursday's agreement to pay comes shortly after Brigham said it would offer 1,600 voluntary buyouts.

The DOJ alleged the Anversa lab had improper protocols, invalid and inaccurately characterized cardiac stem cells, was reckless or deliberately misleading in its records, and discrepancies and/or fabrication of data and images included in applications and publications.

The lab also allegedly provided the NIH with false scientific claims to obtain funding. Drs. Anversa, Leri, and Kajstura are no longer affiliated with BWH.

“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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb. “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.”

Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Boston Field Division, said “This settlement demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are not wasted, and that organizations that receive these funds are truthful in their dealings with federal agencies like the NIH and in the research findings they present to the scientific community, and the public, as a whole.”