Athira Pharma to pay $4M to settle False Claims Act allegations

Athira Pharma (ATHA) agreed to pay $4,068,698 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to report allegations of research misconduct to the National Institutes of Health and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity in grant applications and grant award progress reports and assurances, the DOJ said on Monday. “The partnership between the scientific community and the federal government is built on trust and shared values of ethical scientific conduct,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. The settlement resolves allegations that, between Jan. 1, 2016, and June 20, 2021, Athira failed to report allegations that its former CEO, Leen Kawas, falsified and manipulated scientific images in her doctoral dissertation and in published research papers that were referenced in several grant applications submitted to NIH, including in a grant that NIH funded in 2019. Specifically, Athira violated its regulatory obligations to disclose the allegations to NIH in grant applications and Research Progress Performance Reports, and to disclose them to the HHS Office of Research Integrity in Small Business Organization Statements, Institutional Assurances or Annual Reports on Possible Research Misconduct.