The study was published on a preprint server without pae review, as many studies have been throughout the pandemic. The researchers themselves, the egyptian researchers who put out the paper, said that they've done nothing wrong tat they told me that what looked like plagiarism was just common practice. But i don't think anyone sees this is a nail in the coffin for iver mecton just yet.
Ivermectin is a cheap, widely available, anti-parasitic drug that has been proposed by many as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Dozens of trials have been started, but results have been far from clear, with inconsistent results further confused by high profile paper retractions. Nonetheless many countries have recommended the use of Ivermectin, despite WHO advice to the contrary.
Now a group of researchers have found suspect data in another influential paper which claimed a Ivermectin caused a 90% reduction in fatality. The paper, published at the end of 2020, has since been withdrawn pending investigation. In this episode of Coronapod we ask what this might mean for Ivermectin, and what's next for the controversial drug.
Correction: at 2:53 when discussing two discredited studies, we mistakenly say that the papers say "both drugs worked really well". In fact, this retracted study from the Lancet claimed that the drug hydroxychloroquine caused harm. We apologise for any confusion. More information on the scandal surrounding these papers can be found here.
News:Flawed ivermectin preprint highlights challenges of COVID drug studies
News: Latin America’s embrace of an unproven COVID treatment is hindering drug trials
Coronapod: The Surgisphere scandal that rocked coronavirus drug research
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