Accusations fly over Cochrane expulsion

It’s hard to name a more-esteemed body dedicated to evidence-based medicine than the Cochrane Collaboration. Its widely cited analyses of the medical literature help guide clinical practice around the world.

Now, STAT and Retraction Watch report, the group is convulsed by turmoil after its governing board expelled one of its own members: Peter Gøtzsche, an outspoken critic of the HPV vaccine who has also blasted the profession of psychiatry for pushing unsafe drugs on unsuspecting patients.

Four other governing board members resigned in protest. The board did not detail the complaints behind its ouster of Gøtzsche, who is not going quietly. “This unprecedented action … is disproportionate and damaging to Cochrane, as well as to public health interests,” he said in a statement.

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