Pearson “Trey” Sunderland, III, age 55, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, a senior scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), was sentenced Friday to two years probation for engaging in a conflict of interest relating to his acceptance of approximately $300,000 for consulting services from a drug company without the required approval of and disclosure to National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ordered Sunderland to forfeit $300,000, the total amount of income earned and expenses reimbursed for the consulting services provided; and perform 400 hours of community service.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, “Dr. Sunderland took $300,000 to work on projects for a pharmaceutical company when he was working on the same projects for NIH. It is illegal for any federal employee to make an official decision that directly affects their financial interest, unless they disclose that conflict of interest and get approval from the government.
As Chief of the Geriatric Psychiatry Branch at the NIMH since 1997, Sunderland supervised NIMH’s geriatric research, including the creation and management of collaborations with outside partners, such as other governmental agencies, educational institutions and businesses. The research centered on the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
As a senior NIH employee, Sunderland was required to disclose in annual reports all income earned from outside activities; outside employment arrangements held, including consultant positions with businesses; and travel expenses over $260. In addition, before engaging in outside employment, Sunderland was required to file a form with Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and NIH ethics officials disclosing the name of the outside organization, the nature of the proposed employment and any compensation to be paid.
The “Unknown Biomarker Project”
In late 1997, representatives of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Inc. approached Sunderland about the possibility of the NIMH joining a scientific collaboration with researchers at both Pfizer and a British company called Oxford Glycosciences (UK) Limited (“OGS”) to discover new Alzheimer biomarkers, which are specific physical traits in the blood or cerebral spinal fluid of Alzheimer’s patients that might indicate the presence or measure the progress of the disease. Sunderland committed himself and the NIMH to the collaboration and from 1998 to 2003, Sunderland and his staff members participated in their official capacities to provide Pfizer and OSG with advice, expert opinions, statistical analyses and data interpretation. As required under the collaboration, in 1998, approximately 600 tubes of cerebrospinal fluid samples that had been previously collected from NIMH research subjects were delivered to Pfizer; and in 2000 approximately 200 additional samples of cerebrospinal fluid, blood serum and related clinical data were provided.
At the same time that Sunderland, Pfizer and OSG were finalizing arrangements for the NIMH to become the clinical partner in the collaborative project in early 1998, Sunderland initiated negotiations with Pfizer to be paid as a consultant for his work on the same project. On June 10, 1998, Sunderland signed an agreement to serve as a consultant on the project. Over the course of the five-year consultancy period, Pfizer paid Sunderland retainer fees totaling $125,000; fees for attending 14 one-day meetings at Pfizer company locations totaling $35,000; and related travel expenses.
The “Known Bio