Biomedical Firm Sues Pitt and Former Researcher Over Prostate Cancer Research

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the University of Pittsburgh along with Dr. Robert Getzenberg, a former researcher at the University and currently director of urology research at Johns-Hopkins University, have been named in a lawsuit filed in federal court.  Onconome, Inc., the plaintiff, is a privately owned biotechnology company. 

According to the lawsuit, the University and doctor committed more than five years of research fraud.  The Washington based firm said it spent millions of dollars funding prostate cancer research based on a patent, only to find that the doctor falsified reports and overstated the results of the research.  The lawsuit claims that the screening test, known as PSA (prostate-specific antigen), is "problematic" because it often detects cancer where none exists.  The lawsuit also alleges fraud, breach of contract and failure to properly supervise the research, and is seeking millions of dollars in damages.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men.