The controversial hydroxychloroquine study published in The Lancet two weeks earlier has been fully retracted. Three authors withdrew, citing issues with data provider Surgisphere's analysis.
Days before the World Health Organization (WHO) resumed hydroxychloroquine trials—previously suspended on May 22, 2020—a Lancet study questioned its efficacy in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and highlighted potential cardiac risks, including fatalities.
The paper sparked widespread criticism, even from hydroxychloroquine skeptics. Ahead of WHO's reversal, The Lancet issued an "expression of concern" about serious scientific questions. Reuters reported on June 5, 2020, that the journal fully retracted the study.
The retraction stemmed from authors' doubts on data quality and veracity, particularly from Surgisphere, which failed to support independent verification. Lead author Professor Mandeep R. Mehra was among the three who retracted.
Fourth author Dr. Sapan Desai, Surgisphere's founder and CEO since 2008, declined comment. Notably, the New England Journal of Medicine retracted a related study relying on Surgisphere data, also led by Professor Mehra of Harvard Medical School.
A vascular surgeon formerly at Northwest Community Hospital (Illinois, USA) until 2016, Desai faces three ongoing U.S. medical malpractice suits.
