Medical Professor Defends Gene-Therapy Trial in Which a Patient Died

After a patient died last month in a clinical trial of gene therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, accusations appeared in the news media that she had not been adequately protected from the risks of experimentation on human beings. But last week, a professor at Northwestern University who was involved in the study defended the procedures.

The clinical trial, of a virus that delivers genes to treat arthritis, has been suspended by the Food and Drug Administration. The trial had been taking place at 22 sites, including what appears to be the only academic medical center: Northwestern University's Center for Clinical Research.

Eric M. Ruderman, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern and the principal investigator of the portion of the clinical trial taking place there, told The Chronicle that he was unfamiliar with the exact procedures followed at the site that enrolled the patient who died. That site was reported last week in The Washington Post as a clinic in Springfield, Ill.

But, Dr. Ruderman said, many of the concerns raised by the Post article were overblown. "It strikes me as...