Logan Reed
Andrew Jeremy Wakefield is a British former physician, anti-vaccine activist, and fraudster. In 1998, he published a fraudulent research paper in the UK medical journal The Lancet, falsely claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. This caused a sharp decline in vaccination rates and led to measles outbreaks and deaths worldwide. Wakefield had filed for a patent on a single measles vaccine, creating a conflict of interest, and stood to profit from the vaccine scare he instigated. Investigative journalist Brian Deer exposed Wakefield's fraud, resulting in the retraction of the paper in 2010 and Wakefield's removal from the medical register.
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What You'll Learn
- Andrew Wakefield's patent was for a single measles vaccine
- The patent was filed in 1997, before the Lancet paper was published
- The patent was filed without his employer's knowledge or approval
- Wakefield's research falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism
- The patent was for a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease
Andrew Wakefield's patent was for a single measles vaccine
Andrew Wakefield is a British former physician, anti-vaccine activist, and fraudster. He was struck off the medical register for "serious professional misconduct" due to his involvement in the fraudulent 1998 Lancet MMR autism study, which falsely claimed a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. The fraudulent study caused a sharp decline in vaccination uptake, leading to several measles outbreaks and deaths globally.
Wakefield filed for a patent for a single measles vaccine, which he claimed was safer than the MMR vaccine. The patent application was filed in June 1997, a year before the publication of his fraudulent study, and was obtained by investigative journalist Brian Deer. The application claimed that the product was "most probably safer to administer to children by way of vaccination/immunisation" and could also be used to treat regressive behavioural disease or autism. The patent was filed without the knowledge or approval of his employer, and Wakefield demanded complete legal ownership as a condition of leaving his academic post in 2001.
Wakefield's patent application detailed products aimed at preventing and curing diseases allegedly caused by the MMR vaccine, including a rival vaccine for measles. He intended to sell this vaccine at a great profit as a "safe" alternative to the MMR vaccine. The father of one of the children in Wakefield's study was a co-founder of the planned business that would market this product. However, none of Wakefield's products appear to have progressed beyond the concept stage.
Wakefield's actions have raised concerns about his motives and ethics. While he was under no legal or professional obligation to disclose the patent, his failure to do so while questioning the safety of the MMR vaccine has been criticised. His patent application and the subsequent controversy surrounding his fraudulent study have been detailed in various media outlets, including books, television documentaries, and newspaper investigations.
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The patent was filed in 1997, before the Lancet paper was published
In 1997, Andrew Wakefield filed a patent application for a single measles vaccine, which he claimed to be safer than the MMR vaccine. This patent was filed before the publication of his now-infamous Lancet paper in 1998, which falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism.
Wakefield's patent application, titled "Pharmaceutical composition for treatment of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and RBD (regressive behavioural disorder or autism)", was submitted to the London Patent Office in June 1997. The patent claimed that the composition could be used as a measles vaccine and for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and regressive behavioural disorder.
The Lancet paper, published in February 1998, suggested a causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism, which was later proven to be fraudulent. The paper caused a significant decline in vaccination uptake, leading to measles outbreaks and deaths worldwide.
Wakefield's patent application and subsequent promotion of single vaccines over the MMR vaccine have been seen as a conflict of interest. He stood to profit from his patent, which he claimed was for an "over-the-counter nutritional supplement" that boosted the immune system. However, he denied these accusations and maintained that his research was not a hoax or fraud.
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The patent was filed without his employer's knowledge or approval
Andrew Wakefield is a British former physician, anti-vaccine activist, and fraudster. In 1998, he published a fraudulent research paper in the British medical journal The Lancet, which falsely claimed a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. The paper, which was later retracted, caused a sharp decline in vaccination uptake, leading to measles outbreaks and deaths worldwide.
Wakefield had secretly filed a patent application in London for his own allegedly safer, single-shot measles vaccine. This patent application was filed without the knowledge or approval of his employer, the medical school where he worked. The application, dated June 1997, was obtained by investigative journalist Brian Deer, who exposed Wakefield's conflict of interest and lies.
Wakefield's patent application claimed to have discovered a safer, single-shot alternative to the MMR vaccine. He later repeated this claim in a press conference in February 1998, after the publication of his Lancet paper. However, he failed to disclose that he had an obvious financial interest in promoting his own vaccine.
Wakefield's actions caused significant harm, as they led to a decline in vaccination rates and subsequent measles outbreaks. His fraudulent research and conflict of interest were exposed by Deer and other journalists, leading to his discrediting and removal from the medical register.
In addition to the vaccine patent, Wakefield was also involved in developing businesses to market new diagnostic tools and medications for "autistic enterocolitis," a mythical syndrome that he had fabricated. He resigned from his positions at the Royal Free Hospital and the University College School of Medicine in 2001 and moved to the United States.
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Wakefield's research falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism
In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published a report in the UK-based medical journal The Lancet. The report falsely claimed a causal link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the development of autism combined with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children. Wakefield described this as a new syndrome he named “autistic enterocolitis”.
Wakefield's research paper, titled "Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children", falsely claimed causative links between the MMR vaccine and colitis and between colitis and autism. The fraud involved data selection, data manipulation, and two undisclosed conflicts of interest.
The paper described MMR vaccination as the "apparent precipitating event" and tabulated the parents of eight of the twelve children as linking their developmental symptoms with MMR vaccination. It suggested that the connection between autism and gastrointestinal pathologies was "real" and called for further research. However, it admitted that the research did not "prove" an association between the MMR vaccine and autism.
At a press conference accompanying the paper's publication, Wakefield said that he thought it prudent to use single vaccines instead of the MMR triple vaccine until this could be ruled out as an environmental trigger. He also called for the MMR vaccine to be "suspended in favour of the single vaccines".
Wakefield's claims caused a sharp decline in vaccination uptake, leading to a number of outbreaks of measles around the world and many deaths.
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The patent was for a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease
Andrew Wakefield is a British anti-vaccine activist and former physician. He was struck off the medical register for serious professional misconduct due to his involvement in the fraudulent 1998 Lancet MMR autism study. The study falsely claimed a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.
Wakefield's patent application, filed in June 1997, was for a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and regressive behavioural disorder (RBD) or autism. The patent claimed that the composition could be used as a measles vaccine and for the treatment of IBD and RBD.
Wakefield's research, which was published in The Lancet in 1998, implied a causal link between the MMR vaccine and the development of autism combined with IBD in children. This led to a sharp decline in vaccination uptake and a number of measles outbreaks and deaths around the world.
Wakefield's patent application was for a treatment for IBD, which he claimed was caused by the MMR vaccine. He also developed businesses to market new diagnostic tools and medications for "autistic enterocolitis," a mythical syndrome he fabricated. Wakefield stood to profit from his patent and his role in creating public alarm over vaccine safety.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Andrew Wakefield filed a patent for a single measles vaccine, which he claimed was safer than the MMR vaccine.
Andrew Wakefield falsely claimed in a 1998 research paper that there was a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. This caused a decline in vaccination rates and led to measles outbreaks and deaths.
Andrew Wakefield was struck off the medical register for "serious professional misconduct" and lost his job and medical licenses. He moved to the United States and continued to deny any wrongdoing.
Andrew Wakefield has denied profiting from his claims. However, it was revealed that he had an unethical financial interest in the study and stood to earn up to $43 million.
Andrew Jeremy Wakefield is a British fraudster, anti-vaccine activist, and disgraced former physician. He was a surgeon and lecturer before resigning in 2001 and moving to the United States.
