A group of researchers at Washington State University has received four expressions of concern for papers whose findings underpin a publicly traded company founded by two of the most senior authors on the articles.
The studies, all of which appeared in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, came from the labs of Joseph Harding, a medical chemist at Washington State, and his colleague Jay Wright. Published between 2011 and 2014, the four articles report on a molecule called angiotensin IV, work which Harding and Wright leveraged to spin-off Athira, a Seattle-based biotech firm developing treatments for conditions including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The CEO of Athira, formerly known as M3 Biotechnology, is Leen Kawas, once a PhD student at Washington State whose 2011 doctoral dissertation provided figures for this fraught 2011 article in JPET, which earned a correction in 2014. Earlier this year, as STAT reported, Kawas was forced to take a leave of absence from the company over concerns that she altered images in several papers. And there has been other scrutiny of the company.
Kawas, whose name appears in at least six posts on PubPeer, is a co-author on each of the four articles with EoCs. They are:
- The Procognitive and Synaptogenic Effects of Angiotensin IV-Derived Peptides Are Dependent on Activation of the Hepatocyte Growth Factor/c-Met System, from 2014;
- Mimics of the Dimerization Domain of Hepatocyte Growth Factor Exhibit Anti-Met and Anticancer Activity, from 2011 and the subject of the 2014 correction above;
- Evaluation of Metabolically Stabilized Angiotensin IV Analogs as Procognitive/Antidementia Agents, from 2013; and
- Development of Angiotensin IV Analogs as Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Met Modifiers, from 2012.
All told, the papers have been cited about 90 times, according to Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science. The expressions of concern for all four papers read:
The editors wish to express concern about the article by … of possible image manipulation after reviewing information received from several sources. They have shared these concerns with the corresponding author and their institution, Washington State University, and will await the results of an inquiry to determine appropriate next steps.
Our email to the editor of the journal was returned with a literal “no comment” from Maria Pasho, the publications director for the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, which publishes JPET.
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“Kawas was forced to take a leave of absence from the company over concerns that she alerted images in several papers.”
Alerted? Altered, surely.
Fixed, thanks.
“…concerns that she alerted images in several papers.”
Uhm? Did you mean “alTered”? Otherwise I can’t make sense of this sentence.
Fixed, thanks.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/10/21/leen-kawas-officially-out-at-athira.html
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001620463/000119312521304002/d179221d8k.htm
“Special Committee Findings
The special committee, assisted by independent legal counsel, conducted a thorough investigation of allegations raised regarding doctoral research by Dr. Leen Kawas, Athira’s chief executive officer and one of its founders, conducted while at WSU, as well as related matters.
The special committee’s primary finding was that Dr. Kawas altered images in her 2011 doctoral dissertation and at least four research papers that she co-authored while a graduate student at WSU, and published from 2011 to 2014.
Among its other findings, the special committee found that Athira’s issued U.S. patent claiming ATH-1017, Athira’s lead development candidate, does not cite any paper which the committee found to contain an image altered by Dr. Kawas. Though the committee found that Athira has cited challenged research papers relating to dihexa to support the activity of ATH-1017, a prodrug of dihexa, in certain other communications and applications, it also found that Athira has conducted alternative preclinical studies to support ATH-1017’s activity and recently submitted those studies for peer review publication.
Among its other findings, the special committee also found that WSU’s dihexa patent incorporates images from papers co-authored by Dr. Kawas, certain of which were altered by Dr. Kawas. The committee understands that WSU is undertaking its own investigation into claims of potential misconduct involving research conducted by Dr. Kawas during her doctoral studies at WSU. The committee understands that this review is ongoing, and Athira cannot predict when WSU’s investigation will be completed or what conclusions WSU will reach.”
Company press release: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001620463/000119312521304002/d179221dex991.htm