Disgraced researchers can still reap drug industry payouts

Summary

After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) disqualifies them from clinical research, some doctors still get compensated by the drug industry for teaching or consulting. Disqualification is a rare FDA sanction reserved for when the agency finds major problems or misconduct in clinical trials that researchers have led. Using a federal database of pharmaceutical compensation to physicians, Science identified two physicians who after their FDA disqualification received vast sums from multiple drug companies. The companies declined to say whether they knew of the FDA sanctions. Among the 42 other physicians FDA disqualified since 2005, data from 2013 to 2019 show five others took in about $10,000 to $36,000 in drug company payments after their bans.