RAOULT. Didier Raoult is once again in the sights of justice, after a report commissioned by two ministries. “Serious malfunctions” were discovered within the Marseille IHU which he directed. Here is what he is accused of.
Didier Raoult is in the sights of justice. The former director of the Marseille IHU finds himself at the heart of an administrative report on the establishment he directed for 11 years, commissioned by the Ministries of Higher Education and Research, but also that of of Health, following “several worrying reports” as indicated by Sylvie Retailleau and François Braun, the holders of these two ministerial portfolios. The conclusions, of which the two ministers were aware, led to the seizure of the Marseille public prosecutor.
What does the latest report that targets Didier Raoult and the Marseille IHU say?
According to ministerial press release, “the final report highlights serious dysfunctions of the IHU concerning the quality of its research and care activities.” So much so that, still according to the same press release, “several elements contained in the report [sont] likely to constitute offenses or serious breaches of health or research regulations.
The mission, led by the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) and the General Inspectorate for Social Affairs (IGAS), thus brought to light “certain inappropriate medical and scientific practices widespread within of the IHU, not respecting the regulations in force and which could generate a health risk for patients. In addition, it is reported “drifts in management practices, which can generate harassment and ill-being at work”, as well as “drifts in governance”, all correlated with a “gradual deterioration of the financial situation of the establishment.”
A judicial investigation has been opened, that is to say that the investigating judge must now determine if there has been one or more offense (s) within the hospital establishment under the direction of the controversial professor .
In October 2021, a investigation of Mediapart and of The Express revealed that several clinical trials, carried out at the Marseille IHU under the authority of Professor Didier Raoult, “flouted” the regulations in scientific matters. According to the investigation, from 2017 and until March 2021, the IHU had prescribed a treatment based on four drugs that the National Agency for Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) had nevertheless used. opposite because this cocktail was toxic rather than effective. “The latest revelations are a storm in a glass of water” reacted Didier Raoult on October 25.
Two days later, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) had carried out an inspection and seized the Marseille public prosecutor’s office on the basis of article 40 of the code of criminal procedure, as confirmed by the public prosecutor of Marseilles, Dominique Laurens. “After reports made in May 2021, on possible breaches by the IHU Méditerranée Infection in the regulation of clinical trials (…), we consider that certain studies should have been carried out in accordance with the legislation governing research involving the human person. This is not admissible“explained the ANSM. But in June 2022, the inspection report published by the ANSM cleared Didier Raoult, not highlighting any research involving the unauthorized human person.