Didier Raoult#COVID-19

Raoult was born on 13 March 1952 in Dakar, French West Africa (present-day Senegal). Raoult's father, who came from Brittany, was serving there as a military doctor;{{cite book|title=Rencontre avec un chercheur de microbes|author=Olivia Recasens|pages=56–59|language=fr|date=1 January 2009}} his mother, originally from Marseille, was a nurse. His family returned to France in 1961, and settled in Marseille.{{cite web|title=Coronavirus : qui est Didier Raoult, la "star mondiale" de la microbiologie qui assure avoir trouvé le remède contre le Covid-19 ?|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/maladie/coronavirus/coronavirus-qui-est-didier-raoult-la-star-mondiale-de-la-microbiologie-qui-assure-avoir-trouve-le-remede-contre-le-covid-19_3884387.html|website=Franceinfo|language=fr|date=28 March 2020|access-date=24 April 2020}}

He was for a time schooled in Nice, then attended a boarding school in Briançon.{{cite news|title=Didier Raoult, l'infectiologue marseillais derrière la folie planétaire autour de l'hydroxychloroquine|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2020/03/25/didier-raoult-le-trublion-du-covid-19_6034364_3244.html|author=Gilles Rof|newspaper=Le Monde|date=25 March 2020|access-date=25 March 2020}}

A poor student,{{cite news|title=Chasseur de microbes|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2010/11/19/chasseur-de-microbes_1442299_3244.html|author=Pierre Le Hir|newspaper=Le Monde|date=19 November 2010|quote='J'étais un mauvais élève, agité, aux bulletins scolaires effarants', raconte-t-il. Abonné aux redoublements, il abandonne le lycée en classe de 1re, en 1968}} Raoult repeated a year at high school, then dropped out in the second year of high school to board a French merchant ship called Renaissance and spent the next two years at sea.{{cite web|title=Didier Raoult, le "pêcheur de microbes" à l'assaut du Covid-19|url=https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/sante/didier-raoult-le-pecheur-de-microbes-a-l-assaut-du-covid-19_142627|website=Sciences et Avenir|date=20 March 2020|access-date=20 March 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil.html|title=The Trumpian French Doctor Behind the Chloroquine Hype|first=Robert|last=Zaretsky|date=30 March 2020|website=Slate}}

In 1972, he sat his baccalauréat in literature as an independent candidate, and registered at the medical school in Marseille.Portrait par l'INSERM – 2010 : [https://histoire.inserm.fr/content/download/16833/121077/file/didier_raoult.pdf fichier pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403160035/https://histoire.inserm.fr/content/download/16833/121077/file/didier_raoult.pdf|date=3 April 2020}} (source: [https://histoire.inserm.fr/de-l-inh-a-l-inserm/les-prix-inserm/prix-2010/didier-raoult-grand-prix-2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602212825/https://histoire.inserm.fr/de-l-inh-a-l-inserm/les-prix-inserm/prix-2010/didier-raoult-grand-prix-2010|date=2 June 2020}}) Believing in a family tradition in medicine, Raoult senior refused to pay for his studies in any other subject. Raoult had wanted to become an obstetrician after qualifying, but his grade in the resident's examination was too low for that choice. He specialised instead in infectious diseases, in the footsteps of his great-grandfather Paul Legendre (1854–1936).Catherine Lallement, « LE GENDRE Louis Paul, Docteur », La France savante, CTHS, [https://cths.fr/an/savant.php?id=116651# en ligne].{{cite web|title=Didier Raoult, urgence oblige|url=https://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Sante/Didier-Raoult-urgence-oblige-1680801|website=Paris Match|language=fr|date=3 April 2020}}« Paul Legendre, le premier infectiologue, qui créa l'hôpital des contagieux de la porte d'Aubervilliers, à Paris (...). » cf. Vaudoit 2018, chap.II

In 1982, Raoult married psychiatrist and novelist Natacha Caïn (born 1960).[http://www.closermag.fr/politique/didier-raoult-qui-est-sa-femme-natacha-1102974#img3 "Didier Raoult: Who is his wife, Natacha?"]. Closermag.fr, 11 April 2020.

They have two children,{{cite web|title=La biographie de Didier Raoult|url=https://didierraoult.com/|website=Didierraoult.com|access-date=25 April 2020|archive-date=2 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502044949/https://didierraoult.com/|url-status=dead}} and Raoult has an estranged daughter from a previous marriage, angiologist Magali Carcopino-Tusoli.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rtl.fr/actu/debats-societe/didier-raoult-la-relation-explosive-avec-sa-fille-magali-carcopino-tusoli-7900121276|title=Didier Raoult : la relation explosive avec sa fille, Magali Carcopino-Tusoli|first=Etienne|last=Baudu|date=4 February 2022|website=RTL}}

From 2008 to 2022, Raoult was the director of the Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, (URMITE; in English, Infectious and Tropical Emergent Diseases Research Unit), which employs more than 200 people.{{Cite web|url=http://bases-brevets.inpi.fr/fr/resultats-recherche-avancee/1493135305529/result.html|title=Liste de résultats|website=bases-brevets.inpi.fr|language=fr|access-date=25 April 2017}} He retired in the summer of 2022,{{cite news |title='Serious malfunctions' at French research unit headed by Didier Raoult |url=https://www.thelocal.fr/20220907/serious-malfunctions-at-french-research-unit-headed-by-didier-raoult/ |access-date=24 February 2023 |work=The Local fr |publisher=The Local Europe AB |date=7 September 2022}} after being allowed to stay on for at most one year after retiring from his professor position on August 31, 2021 upon reaching the compulsory retirement age.{{Cite news|last=Noack|first=Rick|date=September 17, 2021|title=French scientist who promoted one of Trump's favorite coronavirus cures set to be replaced|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine/2021/09/17/a56c5bd4-1574-11ec-a019-cb193b28aa73_story.html|access-date=October 23, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Sossa |first1=Désiré |title=France: Didier Raoult restera un an de plus à l'IHU malgré sa retraite |url=https://lanouvelletribune.info/2021/09/france-didier-raoult-restera-un-an-de-plus-a-lihu-malgre-sa-retraite/ |access-date=23 October 2021 |publisher=La Nouvelle Tribune |date=September 2021 |language=French}}

Raoult was awarded the Grand prix de l'Inserm in 2010 {{Cite web|url=http://histoire.inserm.fr/de-l-inh-a-l-inserm/les-prix-inserm/prix-2010|title=Prix 2010 / Histoire de l'Inserm|last=histoire|website=histoire.inserm.fr|language=fr-FR|access-date=27 April 2017}} and in 2015 shared the €450,000 prize of the Grand Prix scientifique de la Fondation Louis D. of the Institut de France with biologist Chris Bowler from the Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.{{cite web |title=Le Prix scientifique 2015 de la Fondation Louis D.-Institut de France remis à Chris Bowler et Didier Raoult - Médiaterre |url=https://www.mediaterre.org/scientifiques/actu,20150608094340.html |website=www.mediaterre.org}}[http://grands-prix.institut-de-france.fr/didier-raoult Didier Raoult] – website of the Institut de France The bacteria genus Raoultella was named in his honor{{cite journal|last=Drancourt|first=M|author2=Bollet, C |author3=Carta, A |author4=Rousselier, P |title=Phylogenetic analyses of Klebsiella species delineate Klebsiella and Raoultella gen. nov., with description of Raoultella ornithinolytica comb. nov., Raoultella terrigena comb. nov. and Raoultella planticola comb. nov.|journal=International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology|date=May 2001|volume=51|issue=Pt 3|pages=925–32|pmid=11411716|doi=10.1099/00207713-51-3-925}} by his right-hand man and longest-serving collaborator, Michel Drancourt.{{cite journal|last=Sayare|first=Scott|title=He Was a Science Star. Then He Promoted a Questionable Cure for Covid-19.|journal=NY Times|date=12 May 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/magazine/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine.html}}

Raoult initiated the construction of a new building to host the {{ill|IHU Méditerranée Infection|fr}}, an instance of the Institut hospitalo-universitaire (IHU) network.Méditerranée Infection 10-IAHU-03 It opened in early 2017,{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediterranee-infection.com/|title=Accueil – IHU Méditerranée Infection|website=mediterranee-infection.com|language=fr|access-date=27 April 2017}} is dedicated to the management and study of infectious diseases and combines diagnostic, care, research and teaching activities in one location.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediterranee-infection.com/article.php?larub=9&titre=missions-et-objectifs|title=Missions et objectifs – IHU Méditerranée Infection|website=mediterranee-infection.com|language=fr|access-date=27 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331211532/http://www.mediterranee-infection.com/article.php?larub=9&titre=missions-et-objectifs|archive-date=31 March 2017|url-status=dead}}

In May 2022 the French drug safety agency ANSM announced it would file charges against the IHU for potentially criminal research misconduct during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite journal| author=Casassus B| title=French research institute faces criminal charges over "serious breaches". | journal=BMJ | year= 2022 | volume= 377 | issue= | pages= o1117 | pmid=35508313 | doi=10.1136/bmj.o1117 | pmc= | s2cid=248507288 | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35508313 }}

In June 2022, ANSM implemented "a series of particularly severe sanctions" against the Raoult-led IHU.{{cite web |last1=Garcia |first1=Victor |title=IHU : l'ANSM prononce de sévères sanctions contre l'institut de Didier Raoult |url=https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sciences/ihu-l-ansm-prononce-de-severes-sanctions-contre-l-institut-de-didier-raoult_2175170.html |website=L'Express |date=13 June 2022 |access-date=2022-09-08}}

In September 2022 it was reported that Raoult's laboratory was being investigated by the Aix-Marseille University for “serious malfunctions,” that in response to this "scientific misconduct investigation by the University of Aix Marseille" four papers from Raoult's group appearing in journals published by the American Society for Microbiology had received expressions of concern, and that a criminal investigation had been initiated.{{cite news |last1=Marcus |first1=Adam |title=Didier Raoult papers earn expressions of concern as criminal investigation gets underway |url=https://retractionwatch.com/2022/09/08/didier-raoult-papers-earn-expressions-of-concern-as-criminal-investigation-gets-underway/#more-125614 |access-date=2022-09-08 |work=Retraction Watch |publisher=Center for Scientific Integrity |date=2022-09-08}}

Raoult has more than 2,300 indexed publications.{{PubMedAuthorSearch|Raoult|D}} As of 2008, he was "classified among the ten leading French researchers by the journal Nature, for the number of his publications (more than two thousand) and for his citation number".{{cite news|title=Didier Raoult, a voluntary researcher|work=Les Échos|date=29 October 2008|page=13}} According to ISI Web of Knowledge, he was the most cited microbiologist in Europe in 2014, and the seventh worldwide.{{Cite web|title=Meet the Editor-in-Chief|url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/human-microbiome-journal/news/meet-editor-in-chie|website=elsevier.com|access-date=28 March 2020}}{{Cite web|title=Didier Raoult – Biographie|url=https://www.fnac.com/Didier-Raoult/ia135922/bio|website=fnac.com|language=fr-FR|access-date=28 March 2020}} According to the Thomson Reuters source "Highly Cited Researchers List", Raoult is among the most influential researchers in his field and his publications are among the 1% most consulted in academic journals. He is one of the 99 most cited microbiologists in the world and one of the 73 most highly cited French scientists.{{Cite news|url=http://hcr.stateofinnovation.com/|title=HCR Clarivate Analytics|access-date=25 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115092422/http://hcr.stateofinnovation.com/|archive-date=15 November 2017|url-status=dead}} He is a world reference for Q fever and Whipple's disease.Science et Santé magazine nº 1er décembre 2010 p. 14 As of January 2022, he had over 194,000 citations and an h-index of 197.{{Cite web|title=Didier Raoult – Citations Google Scholar|url=https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=n8EF_6kAAAAJ&hl=fr|publisher=Google Scholar|access-date=6 January 2022}} He is also on the list of the 400 most cited authors in the biomedical world.{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/eci.12171|doi-access=free |pmid=24134636 |title=A list of highly influential biomedical researchers, 1996-2011 |journal=European Journal of Clinical Investigation |volume=43 |issue=12 |pages=1339–65 |year=2013 |last1=Boyack |first1=Kevin W |last2=Klavans |first2=Richard |last3=Sorensen |first3=Aaron A |last4=Ioannidis |first4=John PA |s2cid=13259290 }} Raoult is also one of the 7.3% most self-cited authors, more than 25% of his citations coming from papers he co-authored.{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000384 |pmid= 31404057 |title=A standardized citation metrics author database annotated for scientific field|journal=PLOS Biology |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=e3000384 |year=2019 |last1=Ioannidis |first1=John PA |last2=Baas |first2=Jeroen |last3=Klavans |first3=Richard |last4=Boyack |first4=Kevin W|pmc= 6699798 |doi-access= free }}

Yet, Raoult's extremely uncommon and high publication rate results from his "attaching his name to nearly every paper that comes out of his institute",{{Cite news|last=Sayare|first=Scott|date=12 May 2020|title=He Was a Science Star. Then He Promoted a Questionable Cure for Covid-19.|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/magazine/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine.html|access-date=18 May 2020|issn=0362-4331}} a practice that has been called "grossly unethical" by Steven Salzberg.{{Cite web|title=What Do Trump And Yale Medical School Have In Common? Both Were Duped About A COVID-19 Treatment|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2020/05/18/what-do-trump-and-yale-medical-school-have-in-common-both-were-duped-about-a-covid-19-treatment/|last=Salzberg|first=Steven|website=Forbes|access-date=18 May 2020}} Since 2013 he has been one of the overseas scientists co-affiliated with the King Abdulaziz University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,{{cite web|url=https://gssr.kau.edu.sa/Pages-251608.aspx|title=Prof Didier Raoult visits KAU|website=King Abdulaziz University|language=en|access-date=11 June 2020}}{{cite journal|title=A Decade of Improvements in Mimiviridae and Marseilleviridae Isolation from Amoeba|url=https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/354556|last1=Pagnier|first1=Isabelle|last2=Reteno|first2=Dorine-Gaelle Ikanga|last3=Saadi|first3=Hanene|journal=Intervirology|volume=56|pages=354–363|language=en|year=2013|issue=6|access-date=11 June 2020|issn=1423-0100|doi=10.1159/000354556|pmid=24157882|s2cid=19392983|doi-access=free}} known to "offer highly cited researchers lucrative adjunct professorships, with minimal requirements for them to be physically present, in return for being listed by them as a secondary affiliation", and so increase its own institutional citation index.{{cite web|title=New study raises questions about global rankings of citations|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/17/new-study-raises-questions-about-global-rankings-citations|website=insidehighered.com|language=en|access-date=11 June 2020}}

Of the 1,836 articles published by Raoult between 1995 and 2020 (amounting to over 120 a year, or approximately one article every three days), 230 were published in two journals edited by Michel Drancourt, who was his right-hand man at the IHU and a close collaborator for over 35 years. Staff members have editorial positions at almost half the journals that have published Raoult's work. The funding of French health institutes according to their number of publications has been suggested to be at the root of his large number of publications.{{Cite web|date=12 June 2020|title=Interrogations sur la frénésie de publications du professeur Raoult|url=https://www.lepoint.fr/sante/interrogations-sur-la-frenesie-de-publications-du-professeur-raoult-12-06-2020-2379632_40.php|access-date=15 June 2020|website=Le Point|language=fr}}

In 2006, Raoult and four co-authors were banned for one year from publishing in the journals of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), after a reviewer for Infection and Immunity discovered that four figures from the revised manuscript of a paper about a mouse model for typhus were identical to figures from the originally submitted manuscript, even though they were supposed to represent a different experiment.{{Cite journal|last=Mary|first=C.|date=2 March 2012|title=Sound and Fury in the Microbiology Lab|journal=Science|volume=335|issue=6072|pages=1033–1035|doi=10.1126/science.335.6072.1033|pmid=22383821|bibcode=2012Sci...335.1033M|issn=0036-8075}} In response, Raoult "resigned from the editorial board of two other ASM journals, canceled his membership in the American Academy of Microbiology, ASM's honorific leadership group, and banned his lab from submitting to ASM journals". In response to Science covering the story in 2012, he stated that, "I did not manage the paper and did not even check the last version".{{Cite journal|date=13 April 2012|title=Corrections and Clarifications|journal=Science|volume=336|issue=6078|pages=155|doi=10.1126/science.336.6078.155-b|issn=0036-8075|pmc=56630}} The paper was subsequently published in a different journal.{{Cite journal|last1=Bechah|first1=Yassina|last2=Capo|first2=Christian|last3=Grau|first3=Georges E.|last4=Raoult|first4=Didier|last5=Mege|first5=Jean-Louis|date=June 2007|title=A murine model of infection with Rickettsia prowazekii: implications for pathogenesis of epidemic typhus|journal=Microbes and Infection|volume=9|issue=7|pages=898–906|doi=10.1016/j.micinf.2007.03.008|pmid=17537665|issn=1286-4579|doi-access=free}}

{{See also|COVID-19 pandemic in France|Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic|Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine during the COVID-19 pandemic}}

On 17 March 2020, Raoult announced in an online video that a trial involving 24 patients from southeast France supported the claim that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin were effective in treating COVID-19.{{Cite web|url=https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/French-researcher-in-Marseille-posts-successful-Covid-19-coronavirus-drug-trial-results|title=French researcher posts successful Covid-19 drug trial|last=France|first=Connexion|website=connexionfrance.com|access-date=18 March 2020}} On 20 March, he published a preliminary report of his study online in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.{{cite journal|display-authors=1|first1=Philippe|last1=Gautret|first2=Jean-Christophe|last2=Lagier|first3=Philippe|last3=Parola|first4=Van Thuan|last4=Hoang|first5=Line|last5=Meddeb|first6=Morgane|last6=Mailhe|first7=Barbara|last7=Doudier|first8=Johan|last8=Courjon|first9=Valérie|last9=Giordanengo|first10=Vera Esteves|last10=Vieira|first11=Hervé Tissot|last11=Dupont|first12=Stéphane|last12=Honoré|first13=Philippe|last13=Colson|first14=Eric|last14=Chabrière|first15=Bernard|last15=La Scola|first16=Jean-Marc|last16=Rolain|first17=Philippe|last17=Brouqui|first18=Didier|last18=Raoult|date=20 March 2020|orig-year=Online ahead of print|title=Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19: results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial|journal=International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents|volume=56|issue=1|pages=105949|doi=10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105949|pmid=32205204|pmc=7102549}}{{Retracted|doi=10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2024.107416|pmid=39730229|http://retractionwatch.com/2020/04/06/hydroxychlorine-covid-19-study-did-not-meet-publishing-societys-expected-standard/ Retraction Watch|http://retractionwatch.com/2020/04/12/elsevier-investigating-hydroxychloroquine-covid-19-paper/ Retraction Watch|http://retractionwatch.com/retracted-coronavirus-covid-19-papers/ Retraction Watch|intentional=yes}}  The French Health Minister, Olivier Véran, was reported as announcing that "new tests will now go ahead in order to evaluate the results by Professor Raoult, in an attempt to independently replicate the trials and ensure the findings are scientifically robust enough, before any possible decision might be made to roll any treatment out to the wider public".{{Cite web|url=https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/French-lab-Sanofi-hypothetically-offers-millions-of-doses-of-potential-Covid-19-Plaquenil-anti-malaria-drug|title=French lab offers 'millions of doses' of Covid-19 drug|last=France|first=Connexion|website=connexionfrance.com|access-date=19 March 2020}} Véran refused to endorse the study conducted by Raoult and the possible health ramifications, on the basis of a single study conducted on 24 people.{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/30/in-france-controversial-doctor-stirs-coronavirus-debate-156889|title=In France, controversial doctor stirs coronavirus debate|website=Politico|date=30 March 2020 |access-date=1 April 2020}} The study was retracted on 17 December 2024 over a lack of informed consent for patients and after scientists—including three of its co-authors—raised concerns over methodological problems.{{cite report | last=O'Grady | first=Cathleen | title=Infamous paper that popularized unproven COVID-19 treatment finally retracted | date=2024-12-17 | doi=10.1126/science.z8aky7n | url=https://www.science.org/content/article/infamous-paper-popularized-unproven-covid-19-treatment-finally-retracted | journal=Science| url-access=subscription }}

The French media also reported that the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi had offered French authorities millions of doses of the drug for use against COVID-19. On 3 April, the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, which publishes the journal, issued a statement that the report on the non-blind, non-randomized study "does not meet the Society's expected standard, especially relating to the lack of better explanations of the inclusion criteria and the triage of patients to ensure patient safety."{{cite news|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/journal-publisher-concerned-over-hydroxychloroquine-study-67405|title=Journal Publisher Concerned over Hydroxychloroquine Study|last=Grens|first=Kerry|date=9 April 2020|work=The Scientist|access-date=26 April 2020}}

Raoult was one of 11 prominent scientists named on 11 March to a committee to advise on scientific matters pertaining to the epidemic in France.{{cite web|title=Coronavirus Covid-19 : qui est dans le conseil scientifique du ministre de la Santé ?|url=https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/sante/coronavirus-covid-19-qui-est-dans-le-conseil-scientifique-du-ministre-de-la-sante_142500|website=Sciences et Avenir|date=16 March 2020|access-date=31 March 2020}} He did not attend any of the meetings and resigned from the committee on 24 March saying that he refused to participate.{{cite web|title=Didier Raoult claque la porte du Conseil scientifique de Macron|url=https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/sciences-prospective/exclusif-coronavirus-didier-raoult-claque-la-porte-du-conseil-scientifique-de-macron-1188372|website=Les Echos|date=24 March 2020|access-date=24 March 2020}}. He denounced the "absence of anything scientifically sound", and criticised its members for "not having a clue".{{cite web|title=Chloroquine, conseil scientifique, vaccin... Didier Raoult se lâche dans "Paris Match"|url=https://www.midilibre.fr/2020/04/30/chloroquine-conseil-scientifique-vaccin-didier-raoult-se-lache-dans-paris-match,8869197.php|website=midilibre.fr|access-date=1 May 2020}} He defended chloroquine as a benchmark drug for lung diseases, saying that it had suddenly been declared dangerous after having been safely used for 80 years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/maladie/coronavirus/coronavirus-selon-le-professeur-didier-raoult-le-consensus-c-est-pe-tain_3941995.html|title="Le consensus, c'est Pétain" : le professeur Raoult s'en prend au Conseil scientifique et à sa gestion du Covid-19|date=30 April 2020|website=Franceinfo}} Following reports and a complaint filed in July by the French-speaking Society of Infectious Pathology (Spilf), the departmental council of the French Order of Physicians opened a formal case against Didier Raoult.{{Cite web |first1=Louise |last1=Colcombet |first2=Elsa |last2=Mari |date=2020-11-12|title=Le professeur Didier Raoult poursuivi par l'Ordre des médecins|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/le-professeur-didier-raoult-poursuivi-par-l-ordre-des-medecins-12-11-2020-8407949.php|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Le Parisien|language=fr-FR}}

On May 5, 2021, Elisabeth Bik (who specializes in identifying manipulated images in scientific papers) raised concerns about dozens of Raoult's papers—including ethical, procedural, and methodological problems in a March 2020 paper reporting success in a small hydroxychloroquine trial. Raoult's lawyer subsequently announced that Raoult was accusing and suing the scientific integrity consultant of harassment and blackmail. The French non-profit association Citizen4Science, formed by scientists and citizens, published a press release and a petition that day, denouncing the harassment of scientists and defenders of science integrity,{{Cite news|last1=p|first1=More profit on|last2=Dit|first2=Emic-Ocasapiens|date=2021-05-05|title=PRESS RELEASE #5|url=https://citizen4science.org/press-release-5/|access-date=2021-06-05|website=Citizen4Science|language=fr-FR}} specifically defending Bik and calling on French authorities to intervene and for journalists to look into the matter. Several French newspapers immediately reported Citizen4Science's initiative.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-12|title=Karine Lacombe : "Si on fait comme si l'épidémie était finie, la gifle risque d'être forte"|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sciences/karine-lacombe-si-on-fait-comme-si-l-epidemie-etait-finie-la-gifle-risque-d-etre-forte_2150583.html|access-date=2021-06-05|website=LExpress.fr|language=fr}}{{Cite web|last1=LIBERATION|last2=AFP|title=Le Sommet sur les économies africaines demande la levée des brevets sur les vaccins contre le Covid-19|url=https://www.liberation.fr/societe/sante/retrouvez-les-dernieres-informations-sur-la-crise-sanitaire-liee-a-la-pandemie-de-covid-19-20210518_2DNQWETKINCUVKM3PJ6KB5FT6I/|access-date=2021-06-05|website=Libération|language=fr}}{{Cite news|date=2021-05-18|title=Didier Raoult entame un bras de fer judiciaire contre une spécialiste de l'intégrité scientifique|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2021/05/18/bras-de-fer-judiciaire-entre-didier-raoult-et-une-specialiste-de-l-integrite-scientifique_6080545_1650684.html|access-date=2021-06-05}}{{Cite web|title=Pourquoi Didier Raoult porte plainte contre Elisabeth Bik, la chasseuse de fraude|url=https://www.heidi.news/sante/pourquoi-didier-raoult-porte-plainte-contre-elisabeth-bik-la-chasseuse-de-fraude|access-date=2021-06-05|website=www.heidi.news|date=20 May 2021 |language=fr}} The petition was signed by thousands of scientists and others throughout the world. By May 22, 2021 Raoult had begun legal proceedings against Bik.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-22|title=World expert in scientific misconduct faces legal action for challenging integrity of hydroxychloroquine study|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/22/world-expert-in-scientific-misconduct-faces-legal-action-for-challenging-integrity-of-hydroxychloroquine-study|access-date=2021-06-05|website=The Guardian|language=en}} There followed various articles in international mainstream media supporting Bik,{{Cite web|last=Dieng|first=Cheikh|date=2021-05-23|title=Covid-19: des scientifiques internationaux déclarent la guerre à Raoult et l'accusent de harcèlement|url=https://lecourrier-du-soir.com/covid-19-des-scientifiques-internationaux-declarent-la-guerre-a-raoult-et-laccusent-de-harcelement/|access-date=2021-06-05|website=Le courrier du soir|language=fr-FR}} and an article in Science updated on June 4, 2021 in issue 6546, reporting over 3,000 signatures for the Citizen4Science petition.{{Cite journal|last=O'Grady|first=Cathleen|date=2021-06-04|title=Image sleuth faces legal threats|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.372.6546.1021|journal=Science|language=en|volume=372|issue=6546|pages=1021–1022|bibcode=2021Sci...372.1021O|doi=10.1126/science.372.6546.1021|issn=0036-8075|pmid=34083467|s2cid=235334811|url-access=subscription}}

On May 18, 2021, Lonni Besançon, a French postdoctoral research fellow at Monash University, wrote an open letter supporting Elisabeth Bik.

{{cite book

| last1 = Besançon | first1 = Lonni

| last2 = Samuel | first2 = Alexander

| last3 = Sana | first3 = Thibault

| last4 = Rebeaud | first4 = Mathieu

| last5 = Guihur | first5 = Anthony

| last6 = Robinson-Rechavi | first6 = Marc

| last7 = Berre | first7 = Nicolas Le

| last8 = Mulot | first8 = Matthieu

| last9 = Meyerowitz-Katz | first9 = Gideon

| last10 = Maisonneuve

| last11 = Nosek | first11 = Brian A

| title = Open letter: Scientists stand up to protect academic whistleblowers and post-publication peer review

| date = 18 May 2021

| doi = 10.31219/osf.io/2awsv

| s2cid = 243194323

| url = https://osf.io/2awsv/

| access-date = 2021-05-22

}} The letter was co-signed by more than 2200 scientists and 30 scholarly societies.

{{cite book

| last1 = Besançon | first1 = Lonni

| last2 = Samuel | first2 = Alexander

| last3 = Sana | first3 = Thibault

| last4 = Rebeaud | first4 = Mathieu

| last5 = Guihur | first5 = Anthony

| last6 = Robinson-Rechavi | first6 = Marc

| last7 = Berre | first7 = Nicolas Le

| last8 = Mulot | first8 = Matthieu

| last9 = Meyerowitz-Katz | first9 = Gideon

| last10 = Maisonneuve

| last11 = Nosek | first11 = Brian A

| title = Supplementary materials of "Open letter: Scientists stand up to protect academic whistleblowers and post-publication peer review"

| date = 8 May 2021

| doi = 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZKX5H

| s2cid = 236542185

| url = http://dx.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/ZKX5H

| access-date = 2021-06-10}}

On June 1, 2021, CNRS published a press release{{Cite press release |title=The courtroom is not a laboratory |author= |publisher=CNRS |date=7 June 2021 |url= https://www.cnrs.fr/en/courtroom-not-laboratory}} denouncing the "judiciarization of controversy and scientific debates", condemning Raoult's legal proceedings against Elisabeth Bik. On June 10, 2021, French Senator Bernard Jomier carried the Citizen4Science press release and petition to the French Senate through a written question to French Minister of Health Olivier Véran, requiring action to protect bearers of science integrity.{{Cite web|title=Site du sénat|url=https://www.senat.fr/basile/visio.do?id=qSEQ210623282&idtable=q354487%7Cq397890%7Cq390460%7Cq381719%7Cq370118%7Cq398561%7Cq376184%7Cq372285%7Cq376427&_c=parole+scientifique&rch=qs&de=20180611&au=20210611&dp=3+ans&radio=dp&aff=sep&tri=p&off=0&afd=ppr&afd=ppl&afd=pjl&afd=cvn|access-date=2021-06-11|website=www.senat.fr| date=10 June 2021 }}

In December 2022, publisher PLOS marked 48 articles by Raoult with expressions of concern "about the reported research ethics approval information and the article’s adherence to PLOS research ethics policies".{{Cite web|title=PLOS flags nearly 50 papers by controversial French COVID researcher for ethics concerns|url=https://retractionwatch.com/2022/12/13/plos-flags-nearly-50-papers-by-controversial-french-covid-researcher-for-ethics-concerns/|website=retractionwatch.com/|date=13 December 2022 }}

In 2022, five papers received an expression of concern from publishers, warning that they may contain errors or be otherwise untrustworthy.{{cite web | url=http://retractiondatabase.org/RetractionSearch.aspx#?auth%3dRaoult%252c%2bDidier | title=Retraction Watch Database }}

In 2020, another paper was retracted after image manipulations were unmasked.

In October 2021, the Mediapart online investigative journal brought to light illegal clinical trials of a treatment against tuberculosis, which Raoult and IHU had been conducting since 2017.{{cite web |title=TOUT COMPRENDRE - Les accusations d'essais cliniques irréguliers contre l'IHU Méditerranée de Didier Raoult |url=https://www.bfmtv.com/sante/tout-comprendre-les-accusations-d-essais-irreguliers-contre-l-ihu-mediterranee-de-didier-raoult_AN-202110240121.html |website=BFMTV |language=fr |date=24 October 2021}} The trial was started without seeking the mandatory approval of the French clinical trial regulator, and continued despite its strenuous objections to its protocol when they eventually sought permission. Many of the patients in the trial were minors, homeless, or illegal residents, and therefore could not legally consent to a trial.

Several suffered severe side effects such as kidney failure from the known toxicity of one of the four antibiotics combined in the trial, and at least one patient contaminated several family members because the treatment was simultaneously ineffective and poorly monitored by IHU.{{Cite web|title=Essais "sauvages" sur la tuberculose à l'IHU : que reproche-t-on à Didier Raoult ? |date=25 October 2021 |url=https://www.ledauphine.com/sante/2021/10/25/essais-sauvages-a-l-ihu-de-marseille-que-reproche-t-on-a-didier-raoult}}{{Cite news|title=" Expérimentation sauvage " contre la tuberculose à l'IHU de Marseille : une enquête interne confirme que l'essai n'était pas approuvé|newspaper=Le Monde.fr|date=27 October 2021|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2021/10/27/experimentation-sauvage-contre-la-tuberculose-a-l-ihu-de-marseille-une-enquete-interne-confirme-que-l-essai-n-etait-pas-approuve_6100134_3224.html}} A subsequent investigation by the French drug safety agency (ANSM) identified grave ethics and safety breaches in IHU clinical trials. Its report was forwarded to the Marseille prosecutor for potential criminal prosecution, and ANSM additionally threatened to suspend all on-going clinical trials at IHU.{{Cite news|title="Les inspections menées au sein de l'IHU du professeur Raoult révèlent de " graves manquements éthiques "" |newspaper=Le Monde.fr|date=27 May 2022|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2022/04/27/les-inspections-menees-au-sein-de-l-ihu-du-professeur-raoult-revelent-de-graves-manquements-ethiques_6123903_3244.html}} The prosecutor opened a formal inquiry for falsification and forgery of documentation and for unjustified medical procedures.{{Cite news|title="Le successeur de Didier Raoult suspend les essais cliniques à l'IHU Méditerranée"|newspaper=Libe.fr|date=7 September 2022|url=https://www.liberation.fr/societe/sante/le-successeur-de-didier-raoult-suspend-les-essais-cliniques-a-lihu-mediterranee-20220907_FANPQZCMXZHXXMTL2DHLHQ5YIU/}}

In May 2023, researchers representing sixteen French organizations wrote that Raoult and his subordinates engaged in "systematic prescription of medications [...] to patients suffering from Covid-19 [...] without a solid pharmacological basis and lacking any proof of their effectiveness," and that those drugs continued to be prescribed "for more than a year after their ineffectiveness had been absolutely demonstrated."{{cite news |title=French researchers slam former hospital director for 'unauthorised' Covid trial |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230528-french-researchers-slam-former-hospital-director-for-unauthorised-covid-trial |access-date=2024-08-30 |work=France 24 |publisher=France 24 |date=2023-05-28}}

In January 2024, BMC Microbiology retracted an article after Raoult and his co-authors failed to provide evidence of approval from an appropriate ethics committee.{{Cite journal|title=Retraction Note: Repertoire of the gut microbiota from stomach to colon using culturomics and next-generation sequencing |date=2024 |doi=10.1186/s12866-023-03167-3 |doi-access=free |last1=Mailhe |first1=Morgane |last2=Ricaboni |first2=Davide |last3=Vitton |first3=Véronique |last4=Gonzalez |first4=Jean-Michel |last5=Bachar |first5=Dipankar |last6=Dubourg |first6=Grégory |last7=Cadoret |first7=Frédéric |last8=Rober |first8=Catherine |last9=Delerce |first9=Jérémy |last10=Levasseur |first10=Anthony |last11=Fournier |first11=Pierre-Edouard |last12=Angelakis |first12=Emmanouil |last13=Lagier |first13=Jean-Christophe |last14=Raoult |first14=Didier |journal=BMC Microbiology |volume=24 |issue=1 |page=10 |pmid=38172679 |pmc=10765687 }} The American Society for Microbiology then retracted seven papers by Raoult and other authors for breaches in human ethical research where the IHU institute gave itself permission to perform studies, but did not get CPP permission, as is required in France.{{Cite news|title=Retraction for Angelakis et al.|doi=10.1128/aac.01508-23 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aac.01508-23}}

{{Cite news|title=Retraction for Angelakis et al., "Abnormal Weight Gain and Gut Microbiota Modifications Are Side Effects of Long-Term Doxycycline and Hydroxychloroquine Treatment"|journal=Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy |date=2024 |volume=68 |issue=2 |doi=10.1128/aac.01509-23 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aac.01509-23}}

{{Cite news|title=Retraction for Drali et al., "Detection of a Knockdown Resistance Mutation Associated with Permethrin Resistance in the Body Louse Pediculus humanus corporis by Use of Melting Curve Analysis Genotyping"|journal=Journal of Clinical Microbiology |date=2024 |volume=62 |issue=2 |doi=10.1128/jcm.01505-23 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01505-23}}

{{Cite news|title=Retraction for Edouard et al., "High Prevalence of Mycoplasma faucium DNA in the Human Oropharynx"|journal=Journal of Clinical Microbiology |date=2024 |volume=62 |issue=2 |doi=10.1128/jcm.01506-23 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01506-23}}

{{Cite news|title=Retraction for Prudent et al., "Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Peptide Nucleic Acid Probe-Based FISH for Diagnosis of Q Fever Endocarditis and Vascular Infections"|journal=Journal of Clinical Microbiology |date=2024 |volume=62 |issue=2 |doi=10.1128/jcm.01508-23 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01508-23}}

{{Cite news|title=Retraction for Belkacemi et al., "Passive Filtration, Rapid Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Treponema Culture and Identification from the Oral Cavity"|journal=Journal of Clinical Microbiology |date=2024 |volume=62 |issue=2 |doi=10.1128/jcm.01509-23 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01509-23}}

{{Cite news|title=Retraction for Amrane et al., "Clostridium scindens Is Present in the Gut Microbiota during Clostridium difficile Infection: a Metagenomic and Culturomic Analysis"|journal=Journal of Clinical Microbiology |date=2024 |volume=62 |issue=2 |doi=10.1128/jcm.01507-23 |url=https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01507-23}}

In October 2024, PLOS ONE retracted several articles due to concerns about compliance with the PLOS Human Subjects Research policy, compliance with the PLOS Animal Research policy and PLOS ONE’s guidelines for articles reporting observational and field studies.{{Cite journal |last=Editors |first=The PLOS ONE |date=2024-10-14 |title=Retraction: Development and Validation of a Microarray for the Investigation of the CAZymes Encoded by the Human Gut Microbiome |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=e0312333 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0312333 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11472952 |pmid=39401237|bibcode=2024PLoSO..1912333. }}{{Cite journal |last=Editors |first=The PLOS ONE |date=2024-10-14 |title=Retraction: Molecular Evidence for the Presence of Rickettsia Felis in the Feces of Wild-living African Apes |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=e0312332 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0312332 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11472912 |pmid=39401224|bibcode=2024PLoSO..1912332. }}{{Cite journal |last=Editors |first=The PLOS ONE |date=2024-10-14 |title=Retraction: Evidence for an African Cluster of Human Head and Body Lice with Variable Colors and Interbreeding of Lice between Continents |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=e0312331 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0312331 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11472936 |pmid=39401199|bibcode=2024PLoSO..1912331. }}{{Cite journal |last=Editors |first=The PLOS ONE |date=2024-10-14 |title=Retraction: Evidence That Head and Body Lice on Homeless Persons Have the Same Genotype |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=e0312328 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0312328 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11472928 |pmid=39401225|bibcode=2024PLoSO..1912328. }}{{Cite journal |last=Editors |first=The PLOS ONE |date=2024-10-14 |title=Retraction: Cytomegalovirus and Herpes Simplex Virus Effect on the Prognosis of Mechanically Ventilated Patients Suspected to Have Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=e0312324 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0312324 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11472917 |pmid=39401238|bibcode=2024PLoSO..1912324. }}{{Cite journal |last=Editors |first=The PLOS ONE |date=2024-10-14 |title=Retraction: Specific clones of Trichomonas tenax are associated with periodontitis |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=e0312329 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0312329 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11472949 |pmid=39401210|bibcode=2024PLoSO..1912329. }}

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}

• 2003: Knight of the Ordre des Palmes académiques (France)
• 2008: Sackler lecture award (Tel Aviv University){{cite web |url=https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CV-Didier-RAOULT-nov2020.pdf}}
• 2009: Eloi Collery Prize (Académie Nationale de Médecine){{cite web |title=Lauréats 2009 – Académie nationale de médecine {{!}} Une institution dans son temps |url=https://www.academie-medecine.fr/laureats-2009/ |language=fr-FR}}
• 2010: Grand prix de l'Inserm (France){{cite web |last1=Rivière |first1=Priscille |title=Remise des Prix Inserm le 30 novembre 2010 au Collège de France |url=https://presse.inserm.fr/remise-des-prix-inserm-le-30-novembre-2010-au-college-de-france/14741/ |website=Salle de presse de l'Inserm |language=fr-FR |date=17 November 2010}}
• 2015: Grand Prix scientifique de la Fondation Louis D. (Institut de France){{cite web |title=Le Prix scientifique 2015 de la Fondation Louis D.-Institut de France remis à Chris Bowler et Didier Raoult - Médiaterre |url=https://www.mediaterre.org/scientifiques/actu,20150608094340.html |website=www.mediaterre.org}}
• 2021: Commander of the National Order of the Lion (Senegal) {{cite web|title=Didier Raoult prophète en " son " Sénégal ?| url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1146591/politique/chronique-didier-raoult-prophete-en-son-senegal/|website=jeuneafrique.com|language=fr|date=2021-01-03|access-date=2022-07-05|publication-date=2021-01-03}}
• 2021: Rusty Razor Award for pseudoscience (The Skeptic magazine){{cite web|title=French scientist Didier Raoult given Rusty Razor Award for pseudoscience|url=https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2020/11/french-scientist-didier-raoult-given-rusty-razor-award-for-pseudoscience/|website=skeptic.org.uk|language=en|date=2020-11-19|access-date=2021-05-11}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|http://didierraoult.com/}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raoult, Didier}}

Category:1952 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century French essayists

Category:21st-century French essayists

Category:Academic staff of Aix-Marseille University

Category:Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite

Category:20th-century French physicians

Category:French microbiologists

Category:People involved in scientific misconduct incidents

Category:Officers of the Legion of Honour

Category:People from Dakar

Category:French people in French Senegal

Category:Academic staff of the University of the Mediterranean

Category:21st-century French physicians

Category:Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal