Fact Checker will have a special report on the Potti mess Monday morning. Please check back.
The text of the Chancellor's e-mail to Duke Medicine employees follows:
I wanted to send a brief note to let you know that you may see some media reports -- most notably in tomorrow's News & Observer -- related to a request by Dr. Joe Nevins to retract an important scientific paper authored together with Anil Potti, MD in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The request for retraction of this paper is the latest in a series of regrettable events that have occurred over the past year related to the science that was the source of the requested retraction.
It's important for you to know that the well-being of our patients, especially patients who volunteer to participate in clinical trials, is our highest priority. In this situation, we are confident that we acted deliberately and appropriately as an institution to both fully protect research participants and fairly evaluate the science and actions of the involved faculty scientists.
While a regrettable situation, I also recognize and appreciate the tenacity and scrutiny of the scientists who raised the questions about this data and the study that is being retracted. A scientific misconduct investigation regarding Dr. Potti began several weeks ago, he continues to be on administrative leave, and I'm pleased that the Institute of Medicine has initiated a major national review of this situation and this field of research.
