Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has settled a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act, admitting researchers used images and data that were “misrepresented and/or duplicated” in support of grant applications to the National Institutes of Health. Dana-Farber agreed to pay $15 million to settle the claim.
Sleuth Sholto David filed the claim in April 2024, about three months after he first posted about the allegations, which played a key role in Dana-Farber’s decision to retract or correct dozens of studies. Authors of some of those papers were among senior leaders of the institution, including president and CEO Laurie Glimcher.
As is typical in such cases, the complaint remained sealed while the Department of Justice investigated. As part of the agreement, David will receive $2.63 million, or 17.5 percent of the settlement.
“I’m very pleased with the settlement,” Eugenie Reich, one of the attorneys who represented David, told Retraction Watch. “And the main thing is that the lion’s share goes back to NIH and should go back out for science.” More than $8.5 million “shall constitute restitution to the United States,” according to the settlement.
The False Claims Act allows plaintiffs to sue on behalf of the government. Plaintiffs have been successful in cases over the past decade involving universities and other research institutions including Columbia, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Duke University. Judges can award whistleblowers up to 30 percent of the settlement,...
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