A PSYCHIATRIST who tested drugs on volunteers without ethical approval and lied to colleagues about his authority has been struck off.
"Ambitious" Dr Tonmoy Sharma, 42, has been struck off by the General Medical Council.
Dr Sharma was found guilty of "serious failings of personal integrity" when he recruited vulnerable patients as guinea pigs for his studies at his Clinical Neuroscience Research Centre, in Priory Hill, Dartford, without contacting their carers.
The psychiatrist also lied when he claimed he had the backing of ethics committees for a range of studies, when he did not have such approval, the GMC has ruled. Dr Sharma was also found to have called himself Tonmoy Sharma MD PhD despite never completing his thesis. He pulled in thousands of pounds in research grants from pharmaceutical firms for research on their products. But he only paid lip service to the rules of ethical research, the panel heard.
MisconductThe GMC panel found Dr Sharma guilty of serious professional misconduct and has directed that his name should be struck off the register and he be suspended immediately. If he does not appeal the doctor will be taken off the register permanently from April 28 this year. During the case, which has lasted 10 months, Dr Sharma, who is listed as "Professor" in the Medical Directory, was found to have acted unprofessionally in relation to five major studies involving four different pharmaceutical companies. He also inappropriately claimed ethical approval for other minor studies.
Andrew Popat, GMC panel chairman, told Dr Sharma that he had failed in crucial areas of medical ethics.Mr Popat said: "The findings of the panel indicate serious failings in personal integrity and honesty, of good clinical research practice, and in regard to the potential welfare of patients and participants in ethical research."The GMC panel had earlier heard how the doctor, also registered at The Listed Building, Free Trade Wharf, The Highway, Stepney, conducted the various studies between 1997 and 2003. The GMC found him to have acted unprofessionally in relation to five major studies involving four different pharmaceutical companies.
Dr Sharma, who qualified in India in 1987 and became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatry in 1991, represented himself throughout the case.
He denied the bulk of the charges against him, including allegations his conduct was dishonest, unprofessional and unethical.
He insisted throughout that he believed "in the ethics of medicine."
Source
The psychiatrist also lied when he claimed he had the backing of ethics committees for a range of studies, when he did not have such approval, the GMC has ruled. Dr Sharma was also found to have called himself Tonmoy Sharma MD PhD despite never completing his thesis. He pulled in thousands of pounds in research grants from pharmaceutical firms for research on their products. But he only paid lip service to the rules of ethical research, the panel heard.
MisconductThe GMC panel found Dr Sharma guilty of serious professional misconduct and has directed that his name should be struck off the register and he be suspended immediately. If he does not appeal the doctor will be taken off the register permanently from April 28 this year. During the case, which has lasted 10 months, Dr Sharma, who is listed as "Professor" in the Medical Directory, was found to have acted unprofessionally in relation to five major studies involving four different pharmaceutical companies. He also inappropriately claimed ethical approval for other minor studies.
Andrew Popat, GMC panel chairman, told Dr Sharma that he had failed in crucial areas of medical ethics.Mr Popat said: "The findings of the panel indicate serious failings in personal integrity and honesty, of good clinical research practice, and in regard to the potential welfare of patients and participants in ethical research."The GMC panel had earlier heard how the doctor, also registered at The Listed Building, Free Trade Wharf, The Highway, Stepney, conducted the various studies between 1997 and 2003. The GMC found him to have acted unprofessionally in relation to five major studies involving four different pharmaceutical companies.
Dr Sharma, who qualified in India in 1987 and became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatry in 1991, represented himself throughout the case.
He denied the bulk of the charges against him, including allegations his conduct was dishonest, unprofessional and unethical.
He insisted throughout that he believed "in the ethics of medicine."
Source
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