"Proximal Origins" Retraction Request #2

Second request for editorial action for Andersen et al., 2020 (May 14, 2024)

This post is the second in a series of documented calls for the retraction of scientifically unsound papers on the origin of COVID-19. These papers are based on invalid premises and conclusions, or are potentially products of scientific misconduct — including fraud.

Below is a letter requesting the retraction of "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2 ('Proximal Origins')," published on March 17, 2020, in Nature Medicine. This letter was sent to Dr. Joao Montiero, the chief editor of Nature Medicine, on May 14, 2024. Dr. Montiero has yet to acknowledge receipt of this request. This is the second formal request to retract "Proximal Origins." The first request, submitted on July 26, 2023, can be found here.

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May 14, 2024

Subject: request for editorial action due to serious violation of publishing ethics

Dear Dr. Monteiro,

We write to highlight a significant breach of publishing ethics related to the paper titled: "The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2," published in Nature Medicine on March 17, 2020. Documentation obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and released by the U.S. Congress, along with interviews conducted by the US House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic with co-authors Kristian Andersen and Robert Garry, provide conclusive evidence of misconduct.

These documents reveal that Dr. Jeremy Farrar, Senior Scientist at WHO, and then director of the Wellcome Trust (which was acknowledged in the paper for its support), played a critical but undisclosed role in the paper's development, including its prompting, organizing, editing, and approval.

Nature Medicine’s policy on competing interests requires authors to disclose any financial and non-financial interests that could influence the publication’s integrity. This policy specifically includes the disclosure of a funder's involvement in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, and preparation of the paper.

Email exchanges from February 16, 2020, between co-authors Dr. Eddie Holmes and Dr. Robert Garry indicate that the omission of Farrar’s role in the manuscript was intentional:

Garry: “Jeremy has been an amazing leader—should be author.”

Holmes: “I agree, and I offered, but he wants to remain independent.”

This omission of a significant role played by the head of a funding agency, allegedly to maintain his "independence," represents a serious breach of publishing ethics that completely undermines the credibility of the journal and calls into question the motivation behind the paper. The classification of the paper as an "opinion" rather than a “research article” further exacerbates the issue, as the authors' intentional withholding of Farrar's involvement damages public trust in the editorial process.

It is also relevant to note that Dr. Robert Garry, one of the authors previously mentioned, has a troubling track record of research misconduct. There are now three documented instances of papers he co-authored being retracted because of data fabrication. Dr. Garry's consistent pattern of unethical behavior in research makes it unsurprising that he would once again disregard the code of publishing ethics.

Having brought this issue to your attention we call upon Nature Medicine to promptly issue an editorial expression of concern and to begin the process of retracting the paper due to multiple ethical violations.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bryce E. Nickels
Professor of Genetics
Rutgers University

Dr. Laura H. Kahn
Co-Founder, One Health Initiative

Dr. Neil L. Harrison
Professor of Anesthesiology and of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Columbia University

Dr. Stuart A. Newman
Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy
New York Medical College

Dr. Richard H. Ebright
Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Rutgers University