Cochrane Collaboration Expels Cofounder, Prompts Resignations

Physician Peter Gøtzsche, a board member of the organization, has been an outspoken critic of certain vaccines and of the pharma industry in general.

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ABOVE: Peter Gøtzsche has previously described big pharma as “organized crime.”
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Update (September 20): The Cochrane Collaboration issued a statement yesterday (September 19) stating that the board’s decision is “not about freedom of speech” (emphasis Cochrane’s). Instead, “it is about a long-term pattern of behaviour that we say is totally, and utterly, at variance with [Cochrane’s] principles and governance.” In accordance with the organizations rules, Gøtzsche for now remains a member, and has seven days to make a written response. “We will report back to you about the outcome as soon as we are able to,” the statement says.

The Cochrane Collaboration, a respected medical organization that conducts systematic reviews of research and helps guide clinical practice, has expelled one of its governing board members, Danish physician and Cochrane cofounder Peter Gøtzsche, STAT News reported yesterday (September 16). The grounds for the decision, which led to the resignations ...

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Meet the Author

  • Catherine Offord

    Catherine is a science journalist based in Barcelona.
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