Charles PILLER is a picky man. The kind not to let anything go through. Give him an appointment, and you will see. Four shortly minutes late, and he restarts. Exactly what we expect from the character. This American journalist, passionate about “complex stories” – really complex – is a figure in scientific investigation. His credo: the pharmaceutical adventures that derail, those where millions of dollars and the life of the sick are at stake.
The independent investigator is at the origin of important revelations of fraud in research against Alzheimer’s disease. The disadvantages he has brought to light up go up to completely invented results. They led to the fall of several eggs in the field, and to the disappearance of companies with very high valuation. What, he says, provoke a significant delay in the fight against this pathology, which affects more than 50 million people in the world each year, and for which there is no remedy.
Immersed in its surveys – published in the prestigious scientific review Science – Charles PILLER has forged a conviction: research on Alzheimer’s is “undermined by fraud, greed and arrogance”. To the point of weakening the credibility of certain scientific certainties, and the therapeutic priorities which result from it. A thesis he defends in his latest book Doctoral. Fraud, arrogance, and tragedy in the quest to cure Alzheimer’spublished on February 4 in the United States*.
An “embellished” study
His story begins in 2021, by chance. Overwhelmed, his colleagues at Science transmit a contact, a neurology professor at the University of Vanderbilt, in the United States. He swears that the fraud in research on Alzheimer’s is legion, that he has identified dozens of them, and that the institutions make the ear. “Information with unverifiable information, there are all the time,” he said to himself at the start. The source in question is called Matthew Schrag. Charles Piller owes him everything.
Many whistle launchers are howling in the desert. Matthew Schrag is not of this kind. “Conscious, prudent, which always makes the facts pass before interpretations”, the source has proven to be particularly convincing. The career of this brilliant neuroscientist comes down to examining images of brain tissue, taken under the microscope, by the thousands. He knows how to instinctively recognize the proteins that go through the brain. The real ones, like the false.
In addition to his scientific work, Matthew Schrag works as a consultant for large companies on disputes. A case pushes him to reread the flagship study of the domain, those of researchers Sylvain Lesné and Karen Ashe. The duo, a French and an American from the University of Minnesota, claims the discovery of Aβ*56, One of the proteins suspected of being at the origin of the losses of memories caused by Alzheimer’s. A potentially major advance – but which will prove to rest on fraud.
Matthew Schrag discovers that the study was “embellished”. Some shots of experience have been tampered with. He said everything to Charles Piller, who checks, confronts, investigation for months before publishing. In June 2024, the scientific article was retracted. The impact is immense. “Many scientists have tried to deepen or redo this work. We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars at least, which were spent on the basis of this study,” insists Charles Piller.
Dozens of manipulated studies
It is today admitted that Alzheimer is caused by an abnormal accumulation of amyloid proteins, which form “plates” around neurons. These aggregates allow harmful components to develop and kill the nerve cells. The study of Lesné and Ashe was going further, identifying a specific mechanism in this “cascade”. Its results have never been reproduced, despite many attempts. “There are perhaps other tracks which could have been explored, and which were not, or less, because of this study,” regrets Charles Piller.
The case of Lesné and Ashe is only the first in a very long series of deceptions. Latest example, the Cassava Sciences affair, also spotted by Matthew Schrag. The start-up, a star time of the industry, promised the Grail: to restore the cognitive capacities of the patients. Enough to spray anti-alzheimer’s drugs already on the market, the effects of which are almost imperceptible. The company attracted hundreds of millions of dollars by presenting unprecedented laboratory results. Frauds, again, revealed this time at the end of 2024.
In this story, dozens of studies have been manipulated. The authorities did not notice it in time, phase II clinical trials were launched, before being interrupted. Dozens of patients received pills stamped Cassava Sciences, for nothing, or almost. In June, one of the researchers associated with the discoveries of Cassava, Yan Wang was charged with scam by the United States Ministry of Justice. The company had to pay $ 40 million in compensation to the US State.
“What these stories show is that the scientific and pharmaceutical system as a whole is very vulnerable to disbelievers. These are not isolated cases, but a real public health problem. We all need a degree of scientific vigilance higher.
A cheating “mafia”
The strength of Doctoral lies in the richness of the cases presented. Half a dozen researchers, sometimes very high in institutions, are pinned there. The biggest taking of Charles Pillar? Eliezer Masliah, director of the neuroscience division at the National Institute on Aging. 2.6 billion euros in budget. The journalist discovered that 132 articles contained manipulated images. The institution has separated from the specialist. It recognizes “falsifications”.
Why so many breaches? Charles PILLER points out the “eagerness” in the middle. There are many suffering patients, and potentially gigantic profits. The history of the first medication authorized in the United States is a striking example, according to him. “This product, called aduhelm, should not have been approved by the regulator, the Food and Drug Agency (FDA). Its profit is not perceptible, and it causes brain damage. The FDA expert committee voted against its marketing, but the institution has still decided to authorize the sale.
The journalist pleads for more safeguards: “In the United States, many agency experts are consulting for industry. Companies pay the evaluation of their drug. It is a source of interest conflicts “. And to quote private SMS sent by the manufacturer of ADUHELM, the Biogen laboratory, to the management of the FDA. “We are talking about the evaluation of a potentially toxic substance. The secrecy of the procedure is essential,” he adds.
A “mafia” of cheaters, “eager” manufacturers and in check institutions. Almost Robert F. Kennedy in the text. The merger with Donald Trump’s Minister of Health, conspiratorial and anti -vaccin, vexes the journalist. “I share a critical look but most of his measures would be disastrous. He wants to dismiss all the agencies, which would not solve the problem. The fact remains that the subject is important. American institutions are struggling to identify and manage disbeliefs. Too often, dust is put under the carpet. “
* Not translated, One Signal editions, 352 p.
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