Ivermectin: ‘Bogus' or ‘Miracle Drug?'

Separating science from politics is tough—especially when the public and politicians are looking over scientists’ shoulders

- DAVID H. FREEDMAN

DOWN BUT NOT OUT Based on the data so far, most scientists expect ivermectin to follow hydroxychloroquine into the dustbin of dubious medical claims. Nevertheless, there are still three large, randomized studies of the drug still ongoing, and some experts caution against awaiting those results before ruling it out.

ANDREW HILL KNOWS FIRSTHAND WHAT IT’S like to bring a breakthrough drug to fruition. The pharmacology researcher at the University of Liverpool in the U.K. helped develop antiviral medications for HIV. “You think about helping to save millions of lives,” he says. “It was a wonderful feeling.”

Last year Hill was also excited about ivermectin, a 40-year-old generic drug shown in early laboratory experiments to inhibit the reproduction of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Since ivermectin was already being produced in industrial quantities as a treatment for parasites in people and animals, it could potentially provide a lifeline to thousands of COVID patients struggling for breath in emergency rooms around the world—but only if it proved effective in the clinic, not just in a petri dish.

Some of the early, promising studies were found to be flawed; one clinical trial was halted when the drug showed no benefit. Hill reported that the drug didn’t seem to be living up to its early promise.