Biomedical espionage
NYT: FBI identifies scientists transferring biomedical research data abroad
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US National Institutes of Health have launched a joint campaign to identify those scientists who steal the results of biomedical research in the interests of other countries. This was reported on Monday by the newspaper The New York Times, noting at the same time that almost everyone who is suspected of transmitting such information is from China.
Investigations of 180 cases of possible theft of intellectual property, according to the newspaper, are underway in 71 research organizations, including the most prestigious medical centers in the United States. The investigations began after the National Institutes of Health, based on information received from the FBI, sent 18,000 letters last year to individuals who monitored the fulfillment of the conditions of research grants. These appeals, according to The New York Times, called for vigilance.
At the moment, according to the newspaper, the National Institutes of Health have identified 24 cases of possible illegal activity. They have been transferred to the US Department of Health and Human Services, which, in turn, can send this information to law enforcement agencies to initiate criminal cases. "It seems that this applies to all aspects of biomedical research," the newspaper quoted the opinion of Michael Lauer, deputy director of the Department of Experimental Research at the National Institutes of Health.
These investigations, The New York Times stressed, "only fueled fears that China is using the comparative openness of the American scientific community to carry out large-scale economic espionage." At the same time, the scale of the investigations has come as a shock to many researchers who believe that Chinese scientists have come to the attention of law enforcement agencies at a time when the geopolitical confrontation between Washington and Beijing is intensifying.
The National Institutes of Health is the largest U.S. government agency engaged in biomedical research and other health research. It consists of 27 research centers and institutes. The department's budget reaches $39 billion, and the number of researchers exceeds 6 thousand.
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