Athira Pharma CEO steps down in the wake of research misconduct allegations

Athira Pharma (NSDQ:ATHA) saw its stock jump 9.35% in mid-day trading after the company announced that its embattled CEO Leen Kawas was resigning.

Kawas will also give up her seat on the Bothell, Washington–based company’s board.

Facing allegations that she had doctored a series of images in research papers, Leen Kawas was placed on leave in June.

Several papers she co-authored at the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics received expressions of concern regarding the possibility of manipulated images.

Mark J. Litton

An internal investigation recently concluded that Kawas had doctored images in several research papers she authored or co-authored while at Washington State University. Kawas received a Ph.D. from the university in molecular pharmacology in 2011.

Mark Litton will assume the CEO mantle of Athira. Litton was the company’s former chief operating officer an…

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