WASHINGTON -- Dr. Samuel Broder, the head of the National Cancer Institute who was among the first government scientists to work on treating AIDS, said yesterday that he would resign in April.
Dr. Broder, who led a laboratory team that discovered the therapeutic effects of the anti-AIDS drug AZT in 1985, will join Miami-based IVAX Corp., one of the nation's largest generic drug producers and a leading manufacturer of intravenous drug delivery devices.
In the past year, the National Cancer Institute has been rocked by the discovery that researchers submitted fraudulent data in a major breast cancer trial called the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project.
The institute later concluded that the falsifications had not affected the overall outcome of the study. Dr. Broder has accepted some blame for not acting more quickly in the matter, but he said the troubles were not a reason for his departure.
Dr. Broder joined the cancer institute in 1972 as a researcher.
"I have served as director of the cancer institute for more than five years, and have served in government for 22 years," he said. "I know of convicted felons who don't serve that long. I am 49 years old and I think I have one more career in me, and if I want to do that I must leave now."