11.01.11
MMR scare ‘linked to secret business plans’
Andrew Wakefield planned to make millions from a medical test linked to his discredited allegations a link between the MMR jab and autism, a new study alleges.
An investigation published in the BMJ says the doctor and his associates predicted they could make up to £28m.
It alleges that a business named after Wakefield’s wife was planning to develop vaccines, testing kits and products to exploit damaged public confidence in MMR.
The BMJ has condemned the whole saga as “an elaborate fraud”.
The original paper has been retracted by The Lancet and Wakefield was struck off the medical register, but he denies wrongdoing.
He told an internet radio station this week: “ The children were not exploited. They were seen because they were sick. They had clinical referrals. They came to us. We responded to a crisis.”
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