Ethics audit flags hundreds of problems in French Covid-19 research institute

An international team of scholars conducted a comprehensive review of research output from the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, finding ethical and legal shortcomings in 853 of the 2,674 papers examined. The audit highlighted that at least 78 articles appeared to violate French biomedical research law, with many lacking any recorded ethics approval or using approvals retroactively. Didier Raoult, founder of the institute, appeared as co-author on 758 of the flagged studies.

His early 2020 promotion of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a Covid-19 cure was amplified by Donald Trump, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., even as experts like Anthony Fauci warned the evidence was anecdotal. The controversial paper was eventually retracted in 2025 but had been cited thousands of times, influencing drug shortages and public discourse. The investigators urge additional scrutiny of the IHU and its parent institution, Aix-Marseille University, to correct the scientific record. University officials claim they have taken corrective measures since being alerted in 2020.