After the publication of a controversial study, the World Health Organization (WHO) suspended clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine. However, the organization has just authorized their resumption, more than a week after having stopped them. In the meantime, the scientific journal that published the study has distanced itself from it.
As France Info explains in an article from June 3, 2020, the WHO has declared the resumption of clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine. This is news from its managing director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus via a virtual press conference. This resumption of the tests comes nine days after their interruption.
Recall that, on May 22, the British magazine The Lancet had published a controversial study on hydroxychloroquine. Led by Professor Mandeep R Mehra of Harvard Medical School (United States), the study in question has been strongly criticized . Professor Raoult had even called her "messy referring to its authors as "nickel feet .
Let us mention in passing the conclusion of the study. The latter believed that hydroxychloroquine had not proven its effectiveness on hospitalized Covid-19 patients. Worse still, the drug would even be harmful and associated with a high risk of mortality.
The WHO has therefore ordered the resumption of clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine after this wave of protest. It seems that the organization has heeded the warning published by The Lancet June 3, regarding the May 22 study. The journal said it wanted to alert readers to the fact that serious scientific questions had been brought to his attention. However, an open letter published by dozens of researchers – some of whom were originally skeptical of the drug – would have weighed more in the balance. This raised both methodological and data integrity concerns. .
Recall that the study included data from 96,000 patients hospitalized between December and April in 671 hospitals. However, these data would come from Surgisphere, an obscure American company presenting itself as an expert in the analysis of health data. In addition, the cessation of clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine has been global and France has not escaped . The pharmaceutical group Sanofi has indicated that it wants to examine the information available. It is also a question of thinking about a possible resumption of trials as well as the recruitment of new patients.
Finally, this is not the first time that researchers have spoken out about the potential ineffectiveness of hydroxychloroquine. Indeed on May 15, we mentioned two studies going in this direction, one conducted in China and the other in France. In conclusion, the results did not plead for the adoption of this drug as part of routine treatment for patients with Covid-19.
