January 16, 2019190116

"The mission of the Cochrane Collaboration, established in 1993, was to systematically review medical evidence with a view to producing the best quality and trustworthy evidence. Twenty-five years later, it is in a crisis that centres on the dismissal (of) one of its founders and the question of access to clinical trial data. The original mission aimed at improving health. In the face of stalling life expectancies, the stakes in the current crisis could not be higher." —David Healy

“In response, more than 3,500 health care professionals, scientists, and public health advocates signed a letter protesting the hospital’s move to the Danish minister of health. ... The letter states that Gøtzsche’s work has ‘played a pivotal role in favor of the transparency of clinical data, the priority of public health needs and the defense of rigorous medical research carried out independently of conflicts of interest.’”

“I write this letter to express my unconditional support for maintaining Professor Peter Gøtzsche as chief physician at the Nordic Cochrane Centre in the Rigshospitalet. ... Peter is undoubtedly a giant, one of the greatest scientists of our times and one of the most influential, impactful, and useful voices in medicine at large.”