Posted on behalf of Roberta Kwok

A drug company executive has admitted to faking cancer to avoid a trial over a synthetic blood product.

Howard Richman, former vice-president at Biopure Corp. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, pretended to be his doctor on the phone to convince his lawyer he had colon cancer that was spreading. He also forged a doctor’s note saying he was undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, leading a judge to cancel the trial (AP).

The US Securities and Exchange Commission had filed a lawsuit against Richman, the company, and three other Biopure executives alleging that the company had misled investors about the progress of a synthetic blood substitute called Hemopure. The Food and Drug Administration had rejected clinical trials, but the company left investors in the dark (Boston Globe).

Richman pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a US District Court in Boston this week. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

Biopure has had its share of challenges recently; last November, it sued an NIH scientist over a meta-analysis that linked a class of blood subsitutes, including Hemopure, to increased risk of heart attack and death (Nature).