Charles PillerThis story was supported by the Science Fund for Investigative Reporting. Please help Science pursue ambitious journalism projects.When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wields its ultimate penalty, disqualification, against clinical researchers who it determines have violated the law, falsified data, or committed grave errors or misconduct, they can no longer run human trials in the United States.
But that doesn’t always sever their financially rewarding relationships with big pharma.In 2008, FDA filed a public notice that it had disqualified Texas urologist James Vestal after its inspectors discovered egregious problems in clinical trials he had led of an experimental hormonal treatment for advanced prostate cancer.