MIT researcher accused of claiming others’ discoveries as his own

By PharmaCompass

2019-05-30

Impressions: 91 Article

A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — Ram Sasisekharan — has been accused of claiming others’ scientific discoveries as his own.

Sasisekharan is known for his computational approach to develop new treatments. He uses algorithms and computer models to develop better and more potent therapies. His approach was used to launch three biotech companies.

Visterra, a company founded by Sasisekharan that had been developing one of the antibodies, was acquired by Otsuka for US$ 430 million last year.

However, two treatments purportedly discovered with Sasisekharan’s computational approach are almost identical to compounds that had previously been described by other labs, a new paper prepared by Lebanon, New Hampshire-based Adimab said.

Adimab said two antibody therapies described by Sasisekharan’s lab — one for influenza and one for Zika virus — “show striking similarities” to the past work of other scientists. The paper presented evidence that Visterra’s monoclonal antibody for influenza — VIS410 — is essentially the same drug as another antibody, Ab044.

“We looked at exactly two cases, and in both did we find irregularities,” said Tillman Gerngross, chief executive of the private biotech firm Adimab.

Sasisekharan has denied the allegations and said in a written statement that he has consulted a legal team and a number of industry experts and was evaluating the next steps, including potential legal action.

Sasisekharan also dismissed the paper as an “opinion piece” that was “founded on a baseless conjecture and filled with entirely false claims.”

However, William Schief, a professor of immunology at the Scripps Research Institute who reviewed the Adimab work before it was published, said the paper makes a “very strong case.”

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“ The article is based on the information available in public and which the author believes to be true. The author is not disseminating any information, which the author believes or knows, is confidential or in conflict with the privacy of any person. The views expressed or information supplied through this article is mere opinion and observation of the author. The author does not intend to defame, insult or, cause loss or damage to anyone, in any manner, through this article.”

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