Brazil's greatest living scientist is unanimously acquitted by medical councils

Dr Flavio Cadegiani has simply found the world's most effective treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, yet he has been accused of everything, even killing patients.

Earlier this month, the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Amazonas (CREMAM) unanimously acquitted Dr. Flavio Cadegiani, physician, scientist and lead author of research on proxalutamide to treat COVID-19. The northern arm of the study took place in six cities in the Amazon. All charges were dropped after the doctor's innocence was proven.

One of the allegations was that Dr. Cadegiani, along with other authors of the study, had not complied with the Code of Medical Ethics, more specifically Article 109, which says: “Failing to ensure, when teaching or authoring scientific publications, the veracity, clarity and impartiality of the information presented” .

Another accusation alleged that the disclosure of research results with proxalutamide would have been done in a sensationalist, promotional way or containing untrue information during a press conference. However, Dr. Danielle Monteiro Fonseca da Silva, reporting counsel for the process, stated in her vote that several similar actions were observed during the serious pandemic crisis, such as the disclosure of national vaccines and medicines without authorization from the competent bodies. The decision of Dr. Silva was followed by the other counselors who participated in the trial.

In another aspect, also involved in the judgment, was the accusation coming from CONEP – National Commission for Ethics in Research, that the research could not have taken place in Manaus, but only in Brasília. But the complaint was not valid. “It became clear to everyone throughout the trial that such an accusation had absolutely no foundation,” explained Cadegiani.

The rapporteur voted for the innocence of Dr Cadegiani. “It proved in the records that it has no connection with the pharmaceutical industry, nor did it disclose untrue information, showing only the encouraging results of the research”, she said in her vote.
Before he was acquitted in Rio Grande do Sul

Research with proxalutamide was carried out in two Brazilian states, Amazonas and Rio Grande do Sul. In Rio Grande do Sul, the complaints were judged by CREMERS – Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in response to the complaints presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the RS.

At the conclusion of the investigation, which took place in October last year, the judges highlighted that the study complied with all the necessary technical and bureaucratic approvals. In addition, they wrote: “The extremely encouraging results presented by proxalutamide stand out, revealing statistically significant effects in reducing the lung damage caused by COVID, even in the short period of treatment and also because there was no harm to the patients tested by the drug”.

“They wanted to know everything that happened, and in the end, they noticed that there was no room for any doubt”, said Cadegiani. “Having the truth in my favor gave me a lot of peace of mind when dealing with serious bodies, truly independent, impartial, and, consequently, fair”.
Learn more about the case

The peer-reviewed and published study with Proxalutamide involved 778 hospitalized severe COVID patients from Amazonas and Rio Grande do Sul. 

The reduction in deaths observed was 78%.

Proxalutamide: 45 of 423 (10.6%) died.
Placebo: 171 of 355 (48.2%) died.
Study praised in the world

In Brazil, the study was mercilessly attacked by the press, which generated a wave of complaints in medical councils. However, abroad, in the most renowned scientific institutions in the world, the high quality of the study was attested.

At Canada's McMaster University, the birthplace of Evidence-Based Medicine, the study was rated one of the highest marks among all COVID drug studies. The same happened with...

Read More HERE