A CO Down doctor who falsified clinical test results has been jailed for nine months and fined £10,000 in the first prosecution of its kind.
Sentencing Dr Hugh McGoldrick of Crossgar Road East, Crossgar, the judge at Downpatrick Crown Court told him: "You have shown no remorse for what you did."
In April the 59-year old admitted two charges, on dates between November 2007 and June 2008, of falsifying drug trials on patients with sleeping disorders.
The offences took place at his Pound Lane GP practice in Downpatrick.
The court had heard details of how he recruited ten, mostly elderly, patients for the study, which involved over 1,800 people worldwide.
However, prosecution QC David McDowell said that if his patients had gone through the correct screening process, then "all ten patients were probably ineligible".
This would have been for a number of reasons, either because they were over-weight, suffering from pre-existing medical conditions, or in some case, already taking taking medications which would have interfered with their natural sleep patterns, he said.
The court was told Dr McGoldrick had submitted the patient sleep records on their behalf, claiming this was because some were elderly and unwilling, or reluctant to use the dedicated phone system.
He also claimed that he had permission to do this from another doctor who was also conducting the same trial, but this was rejected by both the prosecution and the judge.
The court had heard that following a site monitoring visit conducted by one of the drug trial companies in November 2007, the prosecution counsel said it became clear there were other irregularities including medical histories and what medicines they were taking.
His defence QC Frank O'Donoghue said the GP with more than 30 years experience, behaved "out of character" during the clinical trial, just one of 24 he had undertaken over a four year period.
However, Mr O'Donoghue emphasised that Dr McGoldrick had not undertaken the clinical trial, worth more than £20,000 upon completion, for financial gain.
The lawyer added that outstanding monies, of around £9,200, he received, had now been lodged with his legal team for repayment. He submitted that he had made early admissions about the irregularities.
"He has lost his career, he has lost his reputation, he has had to deal with the publicity and the speculation of the community about the extent of his wrongdoing," said Mr O'Donoghue.
However, judge Piers Grant told the GP his behaviour had been "unscrupulous" as he had taken steps to deliberately breach the trial protocol.
"These are serious admissions and there is a high degree of culpability on your part," he said.
The judge added that it was a "serious breach of trust'' which had been placed in him as a medical practitioner to carry out the medical research and also that of his patients.
Judge Grant stressed that "none of the patients'' on McGoldrick's trial for insomnia "had suffered as a result of these offences''.
He told McGoldrick: "Your only sorrow concerns the fact that you were caught.''
After telling his defence legal team that McGoldrick had 26 weeks to pay the £10,000 fine, Judge Grant told prison staff: "Take him down.''
McGoldrick, dressed in a dark grey suit, was led away in handcuffs to start his nine month prison sentence.
