[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 116 (Monday, June 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 41236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-15160]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Office of the Secretary; Findings of Scientific Misconduct

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Research Integrity 
(ORI) and the Assistant Secretary for Health have taken final action in 
the following case:
    Tatsumi Arichi, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute, National 
Institutes of Health: Based on the report of an investigation conducted 
by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Arichi's admissions, 
and additional analysis conducted by ORI in its oversight review, the 
U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) found that Tatsumi Arichi, Ph.D., 
former Visiting Fellow in the intramural program of the National Cancer 
Institute (NCI), NIH, engaged in scientific misconduct by falsifying 
and fabricating published data.
    Specifically, PHS found that Dr. Arichi falsified data that 
purported to show potent long lasting immunization of mice with plasmid 
DNA leading to protection from challenge with vaccinia virus expressing 
the hepatitis C core antigen as published in Figures 4, 5, and 6 in 
PNAS 97:297-302, 2000. This paper was retracted in PNAS 98:5943, 2001. 
The research involved use of a potential vaccine against hepatitis C, a 
virus that infects at least three million Americans, many of whom 
suffer serious health consequences such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
    Dr. Arichi has entered into a Voluntary Exclusion Agreement in 
which he has voluntarily agreed for a period of three (3) years, 
beginning on June 4, 2002:
    (1) To exclude himself from any contracting or subcontracting with 
any agency of the United States Government and from eligibility for, or 
involvement in, nonprocurement transactions (e.g., grants and 
cooperative agreements) of the United States Government as defined in 
45 C.F.R. Part 76 (Debarment Regulations); and
    (2) To exclude himself from serving in any advisory capacity to 
PHS, including but not limited to service on any PHS advisory 
committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or as a consultant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Investigative 
Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 700, 
Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5330.

Chris B. Pascal,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 02-15160 Filed 6-14-02; 8:45 am]
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