It’s a new blow for Didier Raoult. The Ministers of Health and Research took legal action on Monday in view of a new report on the Marseille IHU, which confirms “serious malfunctions” when this institute was under the direction of the professor.
This final administrative report, published on Monday, “highlights serious malfunctions of the IHU”, and “several elements” are “likely to constitute offenses or serious breaches of health or research regulations”, declare François Braun and Sylvie Retailleau in a press release.
“Inappropriate” medical practices
They specify that they have seized the public prosecutor of Marseille. In light of this damning document, the ministers point to “certain inappropriate medical and scientific practices that are widespread” within the Mediterranean Infection University Hospital Institute (IHU-MI) created in 2011, and directed by Professor Didier Raoult until the end of August.
Practices “not complying with the regulations and which may generate a health risk for patients, in particular during research protocols”, “deviations in management practices, which may generate harassment and ill-being at work”, “Drifts in governance, which does not strictly respect the rules governing the foundations of scientific cooperation”, specifies the press release. A gradual deterioration in the institution’s financial situation is also mentioned.
Contacted by 20 Minutes, the lawyer for the IHU and Didier Raoult Brice Grazzini indicates that “the director of the IHU has not been officially informed of any legal action”. And to add “If there is an investigation opened by the prosecution, my client is obviously, as always, at the disposal of the investigators”.