After a controversial PR campaign to a potential blood test for breast cancer, the University hospital of Heidelberg, the criminal has made a complaint against an unknown. There is evidence of an unfair approach to the development and announcement of the Tests, says a press release from the University.
The Prosecutor’s office in Heidelberg have taken up preliminary investigations, said the spokesman, Tim Haaf. Next week, surveys of the employees of the University hospital to begin. It is to be examined, which is the facts of the case may make punishable and who is responsible. Then open a formal investigation could be initiated.
The company Heiscreen, a spin-off of the University hospital, and the University hospital, itself, had on 21. February the new Test will be presented. In a press release, the speech was “a milestone in the breast cancer diagnostics,” a market launch is planned “later this year”.
Fragile hopes?
In the procedure, there was significant criticism from professional societies, physicians, and statisticians – among others, because the effectiveness of the Tests has been only insufficiently described. Also, no studies in a trade magazine have been published, in which the reliability of the test to a large group of patients was reviewed.
The Test had been presented to the Public much too early, so the criticism. Women were made with the hopes that may well not be. Background financial interests, whether further allegations.
Christof’s son, has launched the PR campaign, according to the “Rhine-Neckar-newspaper” to less than five percent of the company Heiscreeen. The spin-off of the University hospital marketed the blood test. Even more shares he holds, therefore, in the case of the Heiscreen NKY GmbH to market the test in China. Son is the chief of the Heidelberg women’s hospital. Also a senior physician and project Manager Sarah Schott is involved in the two companies.
“When economic interests unverifiable results to the Public and, therefore, unjustified expectations, it casts a shadow on the Image of research”, says the Secretary-General of the German cancer society, John Bruns.
The University hospital has apologized for the approach. An external Commission of experts to explain the operations.
The original inventor passed over?
Another point: While the son gives himself as the discoverer of the Tests, it could run out of the original developer is empty, all the scientist, Rongxi Yang. University hospital and the company, the technology Transfer Heidelberg GmbH are denied, according to the “Rhine-Neckar-newspaper”, the researchers may be your financial claim on a portion of the proceeds from the liquidation of the blood tests.
The young scientists Yang had been promoted in 2016 for their research to a “highly reliable and accurate diagnostic Test for the detection of breast cancer in an extremely early stage” of the Federal Ministry of Economics and EU. The program is intended to support start-UPS.
In the spring of 2017, a company founded just before – but was prevented, according to the LEVEL of the technology Transfer Heidelberg GmbH, a subsidiary of the University hospital for the marketing of scientific findings.
Neither of the company nor of the University hospital and the chief of the women’s hospital are currently to get into the allegations. Clinic spokeswoman Doris Rübsam-Brodkorb refers to the processing by the Commission.