Joseph Biederman
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Joseph Biederman (29 September 1947 - 5 January 2023) was Chief of the Clinical and Research Programs in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult
ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
at the
Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...
, professor of psychiatry at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
. Biederman was Board Certified in General and Child Psychiatry. From 2019 to 2022, His citation metrics placed him in the top 0.01% of scientists across all fields. Although his biggest focus was on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in youth and adults, he also contributed many studies of obsessive-compulsive disorders, bipolar disorder, tic disorders, depression, and substance use disorders in youth. Due to this work, he is regarded as the father of pediatric psychopharmacology


Awards and Honors

In 1995 Biederman was inducted into the CHADD Hall of Fame He was awarded the 2021 World Federation of ADHD Gold Medal Award for lifetime contributions to the field of ADHD. In 2023 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders. During his lifetime, he was awarded over 15 million dollars in grant funding from the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
to support his research into the nature, causes and treatment of mental health disorders in youth.


Research Funding

During his lifetime, he was awarded over 15 million dollars in grant funding from the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
to support his research into the nature, causes and treatment of mental health disorders in youth. Johnson & Johnson gave more than $700,000 to a research center headed by Biederman, which was involved in research on
Risperdal Risperidone, sold under the brand name Risperdal among others, is an atypical antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is taken either by mouth or by injection (subcutaneous or intramuscular). The injectable versions ...
, the company's antipsychotic drug.


Relationship with Pharmaceutical Companies

In 2008, Senator
Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States sen ...
, undertook an investigation that alleged that Joseph Biederman had violated federal regulations in addition to Harvard Medical School's and Massachusetts General Hospital's research rules by receiving money from pharmaceutical companies. According to newspaper reports, Dr. Biederman received research funding from 15 drug companies and served as a paid speaker or adviser to seven, including
Eli Lilly & Co Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...
. and
Janssen Pharmaceuticals Janssen Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly-owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Pharmaceuticals was purchased by New Jersey-based American c ...
. Biederman earned consulting fees of at least $1.6 million over eight years from pharmaceutical companies. Subsequent to these reports, the Massachusetts General Hospital launched an investigation. Dr. Biederman has said that he was not influenced by the money and that some of his work supported drugs other than Risperdal. In 2011, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School disciplined Biederman for small clerical errors that violated
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
policies. Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found no ethical violations and nothing to question the integrity of research he published about relevant drugs. No evidence was presented to support newspaper reports that Prof. Biederman had violated federal regulations or had engaged in unethical behavior or scientific misconduct. Thus, he retained his Professorship at Harvard and his positions at the Massachusetts General Hospital where he was subsequently awarded an endowed Chair. According to
ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010P ...
's drug company money database, Biederman received over $3,000 from pharmaceutical company
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's North American division in 2018, mainly for consulting.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biederman, Joseph American psychiatrists Living people Bipolar disorder researchers Harvard Medical School faculty Medical controversies in the United States 1947 births Physicians of Massachusetts General Hospital