The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that clinical trials of the drug hydroxychloroquine will resume as it searches for potential coronavirus treatments.
The U turn by the World health agency followed the discovery that the decision to suspended solidarity trial on the use of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 patients was based on false data.
On May 25, the WHO announced it had temporarily suspended the trials to conduct a safety review, which has now concluded there is “no reason” to change the way the trials are conducted.
The UN health agency’s decision came after a study published in The Lancet medical journal suggesting the drug could increase the risk of death among COVID-19 patients.
The executive group of the so-called Solidarity Trial — in which hundreds of hospitals across the world have enrolled patients to test several possible treatments for the novel coronavirus — took the decision as a precaution.
However, an investigation by The Guardian UK showed that the data used by The Lancet was obtained from Surgisphere, a US-based company whose handful of employees include a science fiction writer and an adult-content model.
The report found that Surgisphere, which claims to run one of the largest and fastest hospital databases in the world, has almost no online presence — less than 170 followers on Twitter and fewer than 100 on its LinkedIn page.
It suggested that several of Surgisphere’s employees have little or no data or scientific background.
The investigation found that Sapan Desai, the company’s chief executive who co-authored the study, has been named in three medical malpractice suits.
In 2008, Desai reportedly launched a crowdfunding campaign for a next generation human augmentation device, but despite receiving hundreds of dollars, the project never came into fruition.
The report also faulted Surgisphere’s claim of access to data from 96,000 patients in 1,200 hospitals around the world, as experts said such study would require many more researchers than the company claims to have.
In reaction, Desai said the firm uses “a great deal of artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate” its activities.
“Surgisphere has been in business since 2008. Our healthcare data analytics services started about the same time and have continued to grow since that time. We use a great deal of artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate this process as much as possible, which is the only way a task like this is even possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, an independent audit of the validity of the data has commenced over “concerns that have been raised about the reliability of the database.”
Hydroxychloroquine is normally used to treat arthritis but public figures including US President Donald Trump have backed the drug for COVID-19 prevention and treatment, prompting governments to bulk-buy.
“Last week, the executive group of the Solidarity Trial decided to implement a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm of the trial, because of concerns raised about the safety of the drug,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news briefing.
“This decision was taken as a precaution while the safety data were reviewed.”
“The data safety and monitoring committee of the Solidarity Trial has been reviewing the data.”
With agency report
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