Immune Response Corporation

One of the early disasters for Immune Response (IMNR) later Orchestra Therapeutics (OCHTQ.PK) occurred in December of 2000. A report surfaced that the biotechnology company tried to block publication of a major AIDS study that found that the experimental treatment the company was developing failed to improve the health of patients, the scientists conducting the research said. An article by Scott Gottlieb in Vaccines and Microbicides said that "The Immune Response company of Carlsbad, California, opposed publication of the study because it did not include a subanalysis it believed showed that the treatment boosted the immune system of some patients. But despite the objections of the company, the researchers, led by James Kahn of the University of California at San Francisco, submitted their results to JAMA, which published them."

The researchers reported that the study of 2527 patients at 77 hospitals tested the vaccine marketed under the name Remune and concluded that it failed to show any advantage in survival or in slowing the progression of Aids. "In September the vaccine's manufacturer refused to provide all the study data to Dr. Kahn and his colleagues, and Dr. Kahn refused to put what the company wanted in the paper. Dr. Kahn and his colleagues felt that the information that the company wished to include was "data dredging" which investors took to be an attempt by the company to hide or manipulate the negative test results.

The bad publicity the dispute between the company and the scientists conducting their research proved very damaging to the companies reputation.