Findings of scientific misconduct.

FINDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT

Release Date:  June 20, 2002

NOTICE: NOT-OD-02-055

Department of Health and Human Services

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  This paper was retracted in PNAS 98:5943, 2001.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.

INQUIRIES

For further information contact:

Director
Division of Investigative Oversight
Office of Research Integrity
5515 Security Lane, Suite 700
Rockville, MD  20852
Telephone:  301-443-5330