WHO Resumes Hydroxychloroquine Trials For COVID-19 Treatment

By Staff, Agencies

The World Health Organization [WHO] announced Wednesday that clinical trials of the drug hydroxychloroquine will resume as it searches for potential coronavirus treatments.

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.

However, according to an investigative report published by The Guardian Wednesday found that The Lancet study was based on flawed data from a US healthcare analytics company.

The review of the data has triggered questions over key studies published in some other prestigious medical journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine.

Since the investigative report, both journals have issued an “expression of concern” regarding its studies.

The database which has come under fire was provided by Surgisphere, a little-known US-based company. According to The Guardian, questions surrounding Surgisphere have been growing in the medical community during the last few weeks.