ABSTRACT
Malcolm Pearce was duly found guilty and dismissed from his post. The facts were reported to the General Medical Council, whose Professional Conduct Committee found him guilty of serious professional misconduct and erased his name from the Medical Register. Attitudes towards research have always been ambivalent, and have swung between extremes; before scientific methodology was able to be proved, research projects were considered to be sorcery and quackery. A Dutch neurologist, Dr H J Gelmers, was found guilty of committing serious scientific fraud between 1989 and 1993 after he falsified reports for medical research and concealed earnings from the tax authorities. An independent pharmaceutical consultant and medical lawyer have commented on an important role for pharmacists, particularly hospital pharmacists, in dealing with fraud and misconduct: they often work in a pivotal position to witness and report events.
