Scientist Steven Eaton jailed for falsifying drug test results !

A scientist who faked research data for experimental anti-cancer drugs has been jailed for three months for falsifying test results.

Steven Eaton, from Cambridgeshire, has become the first person in the UK to be jailed under scientific safety laws.

Eaton, 47, was working at the Edinburgh branch of US pharmaceutical firm Aptuit in 2009 when he came up with the scam.

If it had been successful, cancer patients who took the drug could have been harmed, the court was told.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how Eaton had manipulated the results of an experiment so it was deemed successful when it had actually failed.
 
Speaking after the case, Gerald Heddell, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency's director of inspection, enforcement and standards, said he welcomed the conviction. He added: "This conviction sends a message that we will not hesitate to prosecute those whose actions have the potential to harm public health."

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