Richardson Report Flags 19,000 Problematic Antibody Images Across 15 Vendors
Updated
Updated · GenomeWeb · Aug 25
Richardson Report Flags 19,000 Problematic Antibody Images Across 15 Vendors
3 articles · Updated · GenomeWeb · Aug 25
Summary
Nearly 19,000 suspect validation images tied to more than 17,000 antibody products were cataloged Tuesday by Northwestern visiting researcher Reese Richardson, extending the Thermo Fisher controversy into a broader industry-wide problem.
The report says 15 vendors showed signs of image painting, copied background noise and repeated patterns across Western blot, immunocytochemistry and immunofluorescence images, with G-Biosciences alone cited for more than 6,000 repetitive-background images.
Thermo Fisher's tally rose to 5,580 problematic images across 4,819 products; the company said it has relabeled Western blot images as raw or potentially edited and is updating or replacing images, while not addressing an allegedly fabricated literature citation.
Shared images across brands suggest private labeling or common upstream suppliers: Richardson said identical or near-identical validation data appeared on products sold by Thermo Fisher, Millipore Sigma, R&D Systems, Boster Bio and others.
Several companies said they are reviewing catalogs, but Richardson said only vendors can fully audit their own records and argued the antibody market needs stronger oversight and regulation.