WHO changed COVID-19 policy on HCQ based on suspect data from tiny US company: Report

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has decided to resume the trial of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 patients after The Lancet raised concerns about the data which formed the basis of trial suspension. On May 29, the leading medical journal had issued a data correction on its study saying the figures of the patients from Australia and Asia were botched.

An investigative report by The Guardian later found out that The Lancet study was based on flawed data from a US healthcare analytics company. The employees at Surgisphere, the US-based company, have reportedly “little or no data or scientific background”. According to the British daily, a science fiction author and fantasy artist has been listed as science editor, and an adult model is listed as a marketing executive.

The company’s chief executive Sapan Desai, who also co-authored the studies published in the medical journals, has been named in three medical malpractice suits. Surgisphere had said in a statement that it has commissioned an independent audit to validate data acquisition, warehousing, analytics, and reporting processes related to the study.

“We are pursuing such an independent audit with all due haste while ensuring compliance with various legal and regulatory concerns,” the company said.

Read: 'Decision To Suspend HCQ Trial Taken In Haste; WHO Should've Analysed Data,' Says CSIR

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on June 3 that the Executive Group has allowed resuming all solidarity trials, including the one on hydroxychloroquine. He said the members of the committee recommended, based on available mortality data, that there are no reasons to modify the trial protocol. 

“The executive group received this recommendation and endorsed the continuation of all arms of the Solidarity trial, including hydroxychloroquine,” added the top WHO official.

'Decision in haste'

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIR) Director-General (DG) remarked that the WHO's decision to suspend trials in the first place was 'taken in a haste'. CSIR DG, Shekhar C Mande told ANI that while they were 'happy' that the HCQ trials had resumed, the UN health agency should have analysed the data on their own before making the decision to suspend the trials in the first place.

Read: ICMR Disagrees With WHO's Suspension Of HCQ Trials, Cites 'vast Difference' In Dosage

(With agency inputs)