French Regulatory Agency to File Criminal Charges Against Didier Raoult-Led Institute

France’s Agency for the Safety of Health Products (ANSM) is filing criminal charges against the institute led by Didier Raoult, the controversial promoter of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, for disregard for ethical rules and practices.

The Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), a Marseille-based hospital-university institute (IHU), was cited for multiple violations in its research on human subjects, including clinical trial design and methods for obtaining participant consent in using their information.

The alleged lapses also include conducting research without approval from an external evaluation committee and alleged falsification of a document from the IHU’s internal ethics committee.

Raoult issued a statement on Twitter acknowledging the ANSM inspection that occurred in November 2021 but rejecting the charges against the institute’s practices.