Being “catfished”—a term for impersonating someone else online, usually to lure a romantic partner—has long been a problem in the shadowy world of social media. But not even biotechs are immune from the phenomenon of identity theft, as AIM ImmunoTech learned this week.
The drug developer recently discovered that an “unknown person(s) and/or organization(s)” had set up a LinkedIn profile “claiming to represent AIM ImmunoTech Europe” and was “using the company’s name without authorization.”
The profile, which claimed to be linked to an organization called Clavinvest, had been “promoting misinformation related to AIM’s ongoing clinical activities,” the biotech said in a postmarket release Tuesday.
The “unauthorized and unaffiliated profile” had used “AIM’s logo and copyrighted imagery to provide the impression that it has a formal relationship with AIM concerning AIM’s activities with Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands and Prof. C.H.J. van Eijck.”
AIM’s antiviral and immuno-modulator drug Ampligen is undergoing a phase 2 trial for pancreatic cancer at Erasmus Medical Center. Casper van Eijck, M.D., Ph.D., is a surgeon at the center who co-authored a recent paper assessing Ampligen’s effectiveness as an anti-tumor drug.
By claiming to be related to AIM, the mysterious profile signposted users to “an entity that could falsely be interpreted to be AIM’s European subsidiary and implie[d] that this entity will be raising funds,” the Florida-headquartered biotech explained.
AIM added in the release that it was “taking all of the necessary actions to remove and eliminate this unauthorized activity.” As of early Wednesday morning, the LinkedIn profile had been removed.
Fierce Biotech has contacted AIM ImmunoTech for more details about the incident.