“Concerns were raised” related to compliance with the journal editor’s “publication ethics”, “the appropriate conduct of research involving human participants, as well as concerns raised by three of the authors regarding the methodology and conclusions,” said Elsevier, publisher of the scientific journal International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, in a long note justifying this retraction.
Serious side effects
The article, signed by 18 authors, including Philippe Gautretthen professor at the IHU, and Didier Raoult, intended to demonstrate the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, combined with an antibiotic – azithromycin – against Covid-19.
If this publication had fueled hopes of treatmentshe was quickly singled out by other scientists and ethics specialists for potential errors, or even manipulation, which was subsequently proven by investigations by health authorities and certain media.
Scientific studies later all demonstrated the ineffectiveness of hydroxychloroquine against covid, the use of which has sometimes been associated with serious adverse effects, particularly cardiovascular ones.
The editorial team advises you
Elsevier, which has retained the services of an “impartial expert acting as an independent advisor on publishing ethics”, detailed its detailed investigation into the article on Tuesday, and its damning conclusions on non-compliance with the rules as much as the manipulation or interpretation of results.
“Concerns have been raised. »
The publisher also claims that the authors have not argued convincingly in their defense. His official retraction of the study invalidates the results.
The editorial team advises you
The Gautret study was “the cornerstone of a global scandal” and its retraction “constitutes a late but essential recognition of the scientific excesses which led to the endangerment of patients”, welcomed the French Society of Pharmacology in a press release. and therapeutics (SFPT), chaired by Professor Mathieu Molimard.
The SFPT called for a broader questioning of the work carried out under the supervision of Professor Didier Raoult, in particular on hydroxychloroquine.
