Emory University’s (Emory) Charles Nemeroff, M.D., who in December stepped down as Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and agreed to very strict probation policy is again under fire by Senator Grassley for his bad behavior for not disclosing income earned from promotional talks.
The Senator is asking the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to investigate Emory University over possible violations including:
1. Possible violation of National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Conflict of Interest Rules;
2. Possible violations of Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols and failure to report IRB violations to the Office of Human Subject Research Protection (OHRP);
3. Possible violations of Federal Contracting Rules regarding commitment of time for NIH Grants; and
4. Possible misleading information provided to NIH.
The Senator would like the OIG to begin an investigation into this matter immediately.
In addition, Senator Grassley requested the OIG to conduct a further accounting of this issue to ensure that Emory did not, either directly or indirectly, mislead the NIH about the nature of Dr. Nemeroff’s promotional talks for GlaxoSmithKline and advocacy on behalf of Paxil.
The letter included a packet of information on a promotional program from 2000. The document looks like a standard promotional program packet with the exception of the confidentiality information.
Dr. Nemeroff is not exactly a choir boy in this exercise and perhaps the steps that Emory has taken could have been stronger.
But do these possible violations deserve the attention of an OIG investigation? Since Emory just recently learned of the failed disclosure, they perhaps have not thought about submitting information to the various offices at NIH. NIH was aware of the situation and rescinded a $9.3 million grant, perhaps NIH thought that was sufficient.
Whatever the situation is, Senator Grassley does not want this case to go away. This is not the last chapter of the Nemeroff/Grassley story.
Senator Grassley: Letter to HHS OIG
OIG Letter PsychNet Attachment 2-24-09
The Wall Street Journal Blog: What did Emory Tell about Nemeroff’s Pharma Pay
Previous Stories:
Letters from Grassley: Emory Surrenders
Letters from Grassley: Emory — Release the Hounds
Letters from Grassley: Emory Professor Caught with Hands in Cookie Jar