The Muscular Dystrophy Association suspended funding for a clinical trial. The Muscular Dystrophy Association announced on Friday that it has suspended funding for its gene therapy clinical trial being conducted at Penn's Institute for Human Gene Therapy. The announcement came a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration halted all gene therapy research at Penn after finding several violations of federal research protocol during an IHGT study that left 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger dead last September. The federal agency's moratorium on Penn applies to all eight of the IHGT's clinical trials and will not be lifted until the FDA decides that Penn is capable of complying with research regulations. While the MDA's trial was unrelated to the study Gelsinger was participating in, MDA officials are conducting an independent review of the IHGT's adherence to federal protocol in the study the Institute was carrying out for them. The MDA is a volunteer health organization aimed at conquering neuromuscular diseases through research, comprehensive medical and community services and public and professional health education. The MDA funds about 400 scientific teams annually to carry out research for them. "MDA's commitment to patient safety is paramount," said R. Rodney Howell, chairman of the MDA Scientific Advisory Committee and a member of the Association's Board of Directors. University spokesman Ken Wildes said in a statement this weekend that "while [the MDA's] decision to suspend funding to the Institute for Human Gene Therapy is regrettable, we understand that decision." He added that the IHGT "is preparing a thoughtful and complete response to the regulatory agencies that have expressed interest in this case." Earlier in the month, the FDA issued a list of 18 possible violations that they allege the IHGT group of researchers -- led by the Institute's Director, James M. Wilson -- committed in their study last fall. The IHGT is expected to respond to the FDA's allegations shortly. University President Judith Rodin also directed Provost Robert Barchi to organize an external committee of about five scientists to examine the Institute and how the alleged lapses could have occurred. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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