Overview
- PNAS, which pulled the paper Tuesday, said the authors failed to disclose financial ties to Vega Oncotargets, the startup linked to the research team.
- The journal’s policy for Academy member contributions requires authors with significant competing interests to use a standard Direct Submission route, and the omission triggered a retraction rather than a simple correction.
- Lead author Mariano Barbacid called the lapse a formal error, said the team acted without bad faith, and reported the study has been resubmitted through Direct Submission for fresh peer review.
- A follow-up report cited by Clarín from El País says Barbacid knew in mid‑March a retraction was coming while a Fundación CRIS campaign raised €3.6 million, and the foundation is now weighing what to do with the money.
- The withdrawn study had reported a three‑drug combination that cleared pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in mice, and coverage notes no public claim of data fabrication as researchers urge independent replication under transparent conditions.