A Glasgow medical researcher has been ordered by the General Medical Council not to carry out any unsupervised clinical research for a year after admitting forging letters to Sanofi Winthrop which purported to give ethics committee approval for a project.
Dr Henry Lamont Elliott, of 4 Devonshire Terrace, Glasgow, who works for the West Glasgow University NHS Trust, was told on February 10 by the GMC professional conduct committee chairman (Mr Rodney Yates): "It is vital for the integrity of medical research that proper procedures are followed when seeking approval for research projects."
The committee had heard that Sanofi Winthrop had wanted Dr Elliott to take part in trials of treatments for cardio-vascular disease. A protocol he had submitted to the trust's ethics committee had been referred back for minor amendments. Dr Elliott had then sent Sanofi Winthrop the first of two forged letters purporting to show full approval.
The deception had been discovered when a second letter was seen by the person purported to have signed it when she was, in fact, on holiday. The ethics committee's minutes showed that the trial had not been discussed at the meeting where approval was claimed to have been given.
In the event, the research had gone ahead, led by another doctor.