Following the departure at the beginning of September of the controversial Pr Didier Raoult at the head of the IHU Méditerranée Infection, the historic president of the institute announced her departure on Wednesday September 14, with the convocation of the new Board of Directors to replace her at the end of September. .
“
Following the assumption of office on September 1st of Pr Pierre-Edouard Fournier as new director, I took the decision to inform the Board of Directors of the IHU of my wish not to complete my mandate.
“, writes Dr. Yolande Obadia in a statement sent to AFP.
The arrival of Professor Fournier represents the "
opportune moment
" to set up a new president-director tandem, she explains, hoping that the latter will ensure that
the "independence and responsiveness
" of the 'IHU.
Yolande Obadia's term was due to end in April 2026. She will remain a member of the CA in the college of qualified personalities, the IHU told AFP.
To record this resignation and designate a replacement, the Board of Directors, made up of 18 members, will meet on September 30.
Read alsoEthics: Didier Raoult's IHU brought to heel by the ANSM
“
Pugnacity
” by Didier Raoult
Historical President of the IHU since its creation in 2011 in the form of a foundation, she announced in mid-July, when Professor Fournier was appointed, her intention to leave this position, then paying tribute to the "
pugnacity
" of Didier Raoult in the creation of this research institute on infectious diseases, a recognized institute but in the scientific and media storm for several months.
Retired since the summer of 2021 from his post as university professor-hospital practitioner, Didier Raoult was replaced at the end of August at the head of the IHU Méditerranée.
He had acquired significant media celebrity by holding positions, now discredited, on the Covid-19, in particular the supposed effectiveness of treatments like hydroxychloroquine.
Justice is investigating the practices of the IHU when Didier Raoult was at its head and two reports from the administration have noted a series of medical and scientific abuses.
Professor Fournier has therefore suspended clinical trials within the IHU, “
pending the regularization of the situation
”.