GUILTY PA - Husband charged in cyanide poisoning death of Dr. Autumn Klein

[AlwaysShocked]

FWIW I ran into an old friend who is a longtime employee of the UPMC system. She is fairly high up within her division and part of a small group of folks from "back when" UPMC was not the conglomerate it is today.

Anyway, when this subject came up she said that she was talking with an old friend of HERS who works at the lab where Ferrante worked. The friend stated that Ferrante "was not very well liked by anyone there."

So this is third-hand, but it is what it is.

I also asked my friend about the purchase made outside the normal purchasing system. She said that's a bigtime no no anywhere within the system.

 

[jjenny]

Using university issued credit cards is not outside the normal purchasing system. That's what the cards are for.

 

[toscaxyz]

Using university issued credit cards is not outside the normal purchasing system. That's what the cards are for.

This is consistent with my experience in university research settings. The card is used for smaller purchases, say under $500. It saves the paperwork and delays in getting purchase orders for routine supplies and small equipment. Some places will have a list of preferred vendors for certain things, and maybe this purchase was outside the guidelines because there was a requirement to purchase cyanide from a particular vendor. But the use of the credit card for something that was needed in the lab is not a red flag.

 

[Pensfan]

If Ferrante ordered the cyanide but his lab didn't require it, he can be charged with fraud (even if never connected to Dr. Klein's murder).
http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/news/2013/2013_january/2013_01_16_04.html

 

[jjenny]

If Ferrante ordered the cyanide but his lab didn't require it, he can be charged with fraud (even if never connected to Dr. Klein's murder).
http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/news/2013/2013_january/2013_01_16_04.html

Buying personal items that are clearly not related to any research (such as automobile repair) is quite different from buying chemicals that can be used in research. I don't think fraud charges are possible in this case.

 

[jjenny]

This is consistent with my experience in university research settings. The card is used for smaller purchases, say under $500. It saves the paperwork and delays in getting purchase orders for routine supplies and small equipment. Some places will have a list of preferred vendors for certain things, and maybe this purchase was outside the guidelines because there was a requirement to purchase cyanide from a particular vendor. But the use of the credit card for something that was needed in the lab is not a red flag.

It's very unlikely that there was a requirement to purchase cyanide from a particular vendor, or that he would get in trouble for not purchasing it from a particular vendor.

 

[Aristotle]

Ferrante's specialty seems to be mouse trials, presumably with drugs. Maybe he had moved into administration (director) but his particular lab is smallish with only four publications (one post doc and a number of research assts are hard to maintain without funding). http://www.neurosurgery.pitt.edu/research/ferrante-lab/grant-funding.

Granting seemed to run out in 2012, though his final grant runs out in June 30 of this year, with no more funding obvious on this page at least. Nothing in this research would seem to indicate the need for cyanide, unless to kill unfortunate mice (lawyer says..teaching).

Unless he was going great as an administrator, something was amiss in his research career, although at 64, many would think of retirement.

Pitt had two drugs withdrawn from the market late last year and spring this year, with apologies to the participants in the studies. if F owned any part of those drugs, he would be in trouble. Surely the drug companies would need to see all back studies..any fraud, etc. Not a great time to go to a conference. If a wife knew something that she might share, a casual concern, say, a husband might hate sufficiently. But to do this sort of grisly thing without anything to gain is hard to imagine. Maybe they should look for a woman, but especially, follow the money.

 

[jjenny]

Because of sequestration, federal agencies supporting research had their budget cuts. It would not be unusual at all for many researches to lose funding right now. So that's not unusual. But I don't think cyanide would be an appropriate method to kill mice. I also fail to see how cyanide can be used at teaching. Since he only recently moved to Pitt, I very much doubt he was involved in drug development there. It takes a long time to get a drug to human trials. Since he moved there because of his wife (she got a job there) was he perhaps resentful?

 

[michmi]

If Ferrante ordered the cyanide but his lab didn't require it, he can be charged with fraud (even if never connected to Dr. Klein's murder).
http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/news/2013/2013_january/2013_01_16_04.html

If he was doing any sort of neuromuscular research (and I believe he was), cyanide is a normal item for that type of research. It's used on muscle fibers.

The doctor I worked for used cyanide in his research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The cyanide was not used to kill the mice.

 

[jjenny]

If he was doing any sort of neuromuscular research (and I believe he was), cyanide is a normal item for that type of research. It's used on muscle fibers.

The doctor I worked for used cyanide in his research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The cyanide was not used to kill the mice.

But he reportedly placed an order a few days prior to his wife demise.
So doesn't sound like he was using cyanide before-unless he was using so much he run out (which I doubt).

 

[Aristotle]

Ferrante was into drug development: last paragraphs of http://www.alsresearchcenter.pitt.edu/people/. He may have come to Pitt with them. If funding runs out, as in, zero, what then? Just feel his lab was closing down. Hope his poor post doc can get a job..hmm..

 

[Aristotle]

Reading up on the drugs discontinued, I don't think they were Pitt creations. The Pitt website reports news on ALS which I assumed was Pitt news. Sorry. In fact the drug company Biogen Idec was invested heavily, operates out of Harvard area. Somewhere on the Pitt sites I see Ferrante is only a visiting prof, which usually means temporary.

 

[jjenny]

Ferrante was into drug development: last paragraphs of http://www.alsresearchcenter.pitt.edu/people/. He may have come to Pitt with them. If funding runs out, as in, zero, what then? Just feel his lab was closing down. Hope his poor post doc can get a job..hmm..

There are a lot of researchers in the same boat right now-that is assuming he wasn't going to get new funding. Postdoc would have to find a new job, but postdoc isn't supposed to be a permanent position anyway.

 

[toscaxyz]

At the ALS Center, Ferrante is listed as Visiting Professor which would suggest that he did not have tenure and therefore any job security. Elsewhere at Pitt, though, he is listed as Professor, which means he was likely tenured and would not have lost his job if funding ran out. There would be a loss of face, but he'd still be employed.

 

[Aristotle]

A visiting professor is just that. Stay can be pre-determined or arranged year by year but definitely not permanent. Often, we will see how it works out, we would like HER and your expertise..we can arrange things for you. He is still the rank of professor with that title and payscale. It doesn't however seem that he continues to hold his job from elsewhere. My bet is, he got involved with drug manufacture at Harvard and counted on doing that at Pitt so he wouldn't need measly grants. The drug manufacturer is a huge industry, invested millions in one of these drugs at least..dexpramipexole...which passed thru two phases of testing, and some of the testing seems to have been done at Pitt, as the Pitt website thanks their patients. using Harvard professors among other researchers. It was a huge disappointment to the world that this drug failed the third phase. Did not find anything to link Ferrante to this drug tho he was at Harvard. With the drug failing, his expected funding source might have dried up, although that's a little unlikely, as they would try to improve the drug, not drop it. googling, there is a sort. of scandal involving the drug, but i didnt want to have to become a member to read more. But all this might have represented a new chapter in life. Has anyone considered a double murder- suicide (grandparents coming right up) and he just couldn't. May not be getting closer to solving this but learning a lot about medicine!!!!!

 

[LynnM]

A visiting professor is just that. Stay can be pre-determined or arranged year by year but definitely not permanent. Often, we will see how it works out, we would like HER and your expertise..we can arrange things for you. He is still the rank of professor with that title and payscale. It doesn't however seem that he continues to hold his job from elsewhere. My bet is, he got involved with drug manufacture at Harvard and counted on doing that at Pitt so he wouldn't need measly grants. The drug manufacturer is a huge industry, invested millions in one of these drugs at least..dexpramipexole...which passed thru two phases of testing, and some of the testing seems to have been done at Pitt, as the Pitt website thanks their patients. using Harvard professors among other researchers. It was a huge disappointment to the world that this drug failed the third phase. Did not find anything to link Ferrante to this drug tho he was at Harvard. With the drug failing, his expected funding source might have dried up, although that's a little unlikely, as they would try to improve the drug, not drop it. googling, there is a sort. of scandal involving the drug, but i didnt want to have to become a member to read more. But all this might have represented a new chapter in life. Has anyone considered a double murder- suicide (grandparents coming right up) and he just couldn't. May not be getting closer to solving this but learning a lot about medicine!!!!!

I don't think that Dr. Ferrante was involved in drug development. He did a lot of research with creatine which is an over the counter supplement. He was collaborating with Dr. Robert Friedlander on some research and had been doing so for some years (Dr. Friedlander previously worked at Harvard); keep in mind that the grants under which he was working might well have been secured by Dr. Friedlander.

As for grants, there are private foundations which make grants for Huntington's Disease research, up to $100 million a year. HD researchers are not just dependent on government grants.

It would seem to me that with Dr. Klein's career being ahead of her and Dr. Ferrante's career winding down (he may well have been planning to retire in another year given his age), it made sense for her to accept the University of Pittsburgh job and for Dr. Ferrante to go as well since he knew, worked with, and got along with Dr. Friedlander, the department chairman.

 

[Aristotle]

I agree especially with the last paragraph. Ferrante has been involved with drug development according to https://www.mdphd.pitt.edu/pdfs/faculty/nih_Ferrante.pdf
Sometimes they say "compounds" which I take to mean pre drugs. He says his research partner at Pitt is a guy who seems to have been (and continues on) as a PI in several big-drug trials of Biogen Idec, in which the drugs failed. I guess these are what they try on the mice and what is meant by "bench to bedside".

I agree, his career seems to be winding down. I bet he saw a loss to his position and prestige and money probably, and perhaps an expensive divorce coming on. Funny, that he came to Pitt with such promise. There is such a contradiction between his upbeat position of a few years ago and his later position...However the web sites may not be updating, and maybe new and wonderful things have been happening. From what I can find, though, it seems something awful must have happened career wise, to turn the tables so fast. But on the other hand, wouldn't it almost seem too obvious a time to have a wife die of a stroke.

 

[LynnM]

I agree especially with the last paragraph. Ferrante has been involved with drug development according to https://www.mdphd.pitt.edu/pdfs/faculty/nih_Ferrante.pdf
Sometimes they say "compounds" which I take to mean pre drugs. He says his research partner at Pitt is a guy who seems to have been (and continues on) as a PI in several big-drug trials of Biogen Idec, in which the drugs failed. I guess these are what they try on the mice and what is meant by "bench to bedside".

I agree, his career seems to be winding down. I bet he saw a loss to his position and prestige and money probably, and perhaps an expensive divorce coming on. Funny, that he came to Pitt with such promise. There is such a contradiction between his upbeat position of a few years ago and his later position...However the web sites may not be updating, and maybe new and wonderful things have been happening. From what I can find, though, it seems something awful must have happened career wise, to turn the tables so fast. But on the other hand, wouldn't it almost seem too obvious a time to have a wife die..of a stroke.

Thanks so much for the link. It's very helpful

What I was thinking of in saying that he hasn't been involved in drug development was that his work has focused on trying existing drugs or supplements (like creatine, CoQ10, minocycline, etc.) in mouse models to prepare for clinical trials rather than develop new compounds. It's work aimed at getting treatments and it's important but it isn't the type of work that would lead to contracts with drug companies and career setbacks when the drugs didn't pan out in clinical trials. In other words, I don't believe he has been much involved in assays to identify compounds that might have efficacy in disease models and he has not done medicinal chemistry, ie tweaking compounds to make them more bioavailable and less toxic or more narrowly targeted. In HD research, he has worked with Alex Kazantsev who does do the assays and the medical chemistry but Alex is the principal investigator.

I was very surprised to read that a novel compound for ALS was established in his lab. I've read almost everything he's published in HD but not other neurodegenerative disorders and I must have missed that. I think he is talking about aryloxanyl pyrazolone derivatives. I believe this involved medicinal chemistry done at Northwestern though so maybe his role was to do the animal research -- which he is very good at.

As for the HD trials, minocycline failed (also failed in ALS), but creatine and CoQ10 are still in Phase III trials. The minocycline failure isn't a negative for his career. People aren't mice and drugs which succeed in mice may very well fail in human trials especially when this involves central nervous system drugs.

I don't think his career has taken a downturn. I think he has been continuing to do what he has excelled in in the past, animal testing, and I would imagine he has been brought in on a number of grants to do it, just like in the past. He has received some grants on his own but also worked with others, as you can see on his C.V.

 

[Aristotle]

Wow! Thank you for sorting me out! Does this mean you think his job was holding on strong? He is still listed on the Pitt website.

 

[time]

I think it's difficult to know what dynamics would have been going on with Klein and Ferrante. She met him while she was a student at the same hospital. Not sure if he was ever her teacher or mentor. I would imagine that was good for her career wise, not that she couldn't hold her own. Some reports make it sound like they were recruited as a team, not that he just followed and was given a position. I know she was working on her career but I am still a bit puzzled why they waited so long to try and have a second child (based on both their ages) and they had been married for 12 years and their daughter is 6. Maybe she hoped he would retire and be a stay at home daddy now? Maybe he didn't want another child - I can't fathom that at my age let alone at 64. Not sure if it is fair to a child. I don't know, I can't wait to hear more about the investigation.

The couple met while Klein was a student where Ferrante worked at the VA Hospital in Bedford, Mass. They were married in 2001 and moved to Pittsburgh after being recruited to join the university's neurological surgery team.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/p...ssuedindeathofwpadoc.html#V5R2vbMOoy0jUH8i.99​