A major French research centre that produced one of the most widely cited and controversial research papers of the Covid-19 pandemic has been found by an international research team to have used questionable and concerning ethics approval processes across hundreds of studies.
The Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, or IHU, is a large clinical research centre in the south of France. It was founded by Prof Didier Raoult, who was also director of the centre
until August 2022, when he stood down ahead of
the release of findings from a government audit that found the institute conducted trials “likely to constitute offences or serious breaches of health or research regulations”.
Raoult was the corresponding author of an IHU-led study published in 2020 which claimed the drugs hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin could in combination treat Covid-19 with “100% viral clearance”,
leading to several countries adopting the treatment, and former US president Donald Trump promoting it.
The research
was quickly identified as problematic, with the study design and interpretation of data criticised by experts, and the combination treatment also found to be associated with increased risk of heart damage.
More rigorous studies concluded
the treatments in combination and alone were ineffective, with major international organisations including the World Health Organisation recommending against the treatments and warning of adverse effects.
Despite this, the
drugs are still being prescribed to treat Covid-19 in low and middle-income countries,
raising concerns about antimicrobial resistance given azithromycin is an antibiotic. Raoult
stands by the study’s findings and hydroxychloroquine.
