Cochrane board votes to remove Nordic centre head

The Cochrane network for evidence-based medicine says it has ended the board membership of Peter Gøtzsche and removed him from his post as director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre.

Four members of Cochrane’s board resigned earlier this month over its decision to initiate expulsion proceedings against Gøtzsche. Another two members had to step down to maintain a balance between elected and appointed members. The remaining members minus Gøtzsche voted unanimously on 25 September to complete his termination, the board announced.

Cochrane told Research Europe that it “has already been in contact with the Nordic Cochrane Centre’s host institution to discuss the appointment of a new director and to sustain the work of the centre and its employees in the future”. It said it was working on these issues with both the Danish ministry of health and the Rigshospitalet, which hosts the centre and is part of the University of Copenhagen.