Update: After unexplained delay, Cell Cycle retracts paper related to work that formed the basis of anti-cancer company

In December, we reported on the retraction of a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on a potential treatment for breast cancer. We later found out that the retracted research was part of the basis of a company that had an initial public offering a few weeks later. How the company dealt with the news of the retraction made for an interesting follow-up, and speaks well of the principles of the principals.

Here’s another follow-up. The retraction notice has now appeared of a related review in Cell Cycle that we reported would be withdrawn. Here’s the text:

The WNT-5a derived peptide, Foxy-5, possesses dual properties that impair progression of ERa negative breast cancer,” by Caroline E. Ford, Elin J. Ekström, Jillian Howlin and Tommy Andersson, which appeared in the June 15, 2009 issue of Cell Cycle (Ford CE, et al. Cell Cycle 2009; 8:1838-1842; 10.4161/cc.8.12.8863). The authors wish to note the following: “Recently a paper, on which I was the senior author and that was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled “Wnt-5a signaling restores tamoxifen sensitivity in estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer cells” (Ford CE, Ekström EJ, Andersson T. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2009; 106:3919-24) was retracted. The fact that this paper was the direct reason for our review article in the Cell Cycle journal makes it logical that I also retract the cited review article published in the Cell Cycle journal, the other authors approve this retraction. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

The “I” in the retraction refers to senior author Tommy Andersson. He tells us that he requested the retraction in November, as soon as the PNAS retraction was published. At the end of that month, the journal promised him they would publish the retraction as soon as possible, but somehow it didn’t appear until April 1.

Caroline Ford, the corresponding author of the Cell Cycle review, had left Andersson’s lab a year before the PNAS retraction. Ford has done well recently. She was one of 21 young researchers who Cure Cancer called “heroic” and awarded a total or $1.8 million (AU). Here she is talking about her work.

As for the stock of WntResearch (WNT), the company based on related research, it has spiked a few times but is trading fairly close to its initial public offering price.