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End of hydroxychloroquine: Discovery study ends clinical trials

2020-06-24T23:59:23.849Z


The drug promoted by Professor Didier Raoult has just been withdrawn from clinical trials, in France and around the world.


The document is soberly entitled: "Newsletter". But inside, the news is explosive. In a few words, the death sentence for the most discussed treatment in France is pronounced: Discovery "has made the decision to stop the hydroxychloroquine arm", we read in this note sent on June 18 to the doctors involved in the study.

Discovery is this European trial, launched in March, by France. It was to include 3200 patients before being reduced to fright with only 760 participants, the vast majority of whom were from France. Among the four drugs tested against the serious forms of Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine is the only one to date to be sidelined.

“In the jargon, we talk about futility, that means that we don't see efficiency. It is therefore not worth continuing to use it for treatment ”, regrets Professor Yazdan Yazdanpanah, infectious disease specialist and president of the consortium of which Discovery is a member. Concretely, no patient in France today receives this molecule as part of the trial.

But this is also the case globally. "Discovery" is, indeed, a branch of "Solidarity", the trial conducted by the World Health Organization. On the other hand, no notable toxicity in the patients, who were administered hydroxychloroquine.

Before her, the English study “Recovery” including 11,000 patients, did not show any effectiveness either. But then what about the latest study by Didier Raoult, carried out on 3700 patients? "The problem is that there is no comparative group between those who received it and the others," sighs Yazdan Yazdanpanah. Without that, it's complicated to say that it works… ”

Four months of controversy

February 25. "Coronavirus, end of game!" With its affirmative title (changed since), the video of 1 min and 44 seconds is posted on the site of the IHU (Institut hospitalo-universitaire) of Marseille. 800,000 views and a box for its author. Long hair, black jacket, skull ring, Didier Raoult, professor of microbiology, announces a "scoop". According to Chinese studies, chloroquine "is effective on the coronavirus," he says. Hitherto known as anti-malarial, this drug is propelled on the public scene. According to Raoult, it should be “recommended for all cases” of Sars-cov-2 infections. On that day, 80,000 cases were confirmed worldwide, 2,705 people died.

March 19. Donald Trump sees chloroquine as a possible "gift from heaven". The American president announces having "approved" its use to fight against Covid-19 ... and is contradicted by his drug agency. In France, queues are forming in front of the Didier Raoult Institute. Doctors argue about the effectiveness of the treatment.

March 26. The epidemic is in full swing. By decree, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran authorizes its administration, only to the most serious patients. The professor from Marseilles recommends it, him, from the beginning of the disease.

May 22. The prestigious Lancet publishes an alarming study: molecules increase the risk of death. The next day, Olivier Véran contacted the High Council for Public Health. But here, scientists denounce serious problems in the study. Raoult calls it a "mess". On June 4, The Lancet withdrew its articles.

June 16. In a new video, Didier Raoult announces the results of a study on 3,700 patients followed at the IHU, including 3,119 treated with Hydroxy / Azythromycin. Mortality is "the lowest in the world," he says.

June 18. A letter to the investigators of the French trial Discovery, where the treatment was tested, states that "hydroxychloroquine is not effective in reducing mortality in patients hospitalized for Covid‐ 19". It is decided to stop it.

This Wednesday 24. After the Director General of Health, Didier Raoult will be heard by the Commission of Inquiry of the National Assembly on the Covid-19.

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2020-06-24

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