Newtown Square, Pa., Aug. 30, 2005—Boiron Laboratories, in its continued educational and research efforts for the advancement of homeopathy, has rejected editorial commentaries and an article published in The Lancet's Aug. 27, 2005, edition on the basis that it has methodological errors.

The British medical journal features commentary and a study by Aijing Shang and colleagues from the University of Berne in Switzerland. The study was based on 220 trials, which were selected according to predefined and scientific criteria. This first global analysis actually validates the conclusion of three previous meta-analyses* that homeopathic medicines are effective. Conversely, the authors of the study arbitrarily eliminated a number of trial series, retaining only 14 out of the 220 initial studies (eight trials of homeopathy and six trials of conventional medicines), which led to final conclusions that are unfavorable to homeopathy. This sub-group analysis, made subsequent to the first global analysis and based on unknown trial selection criteria, is unscientific and not rigorous.

Homeopathic medicines are prescribed by 150,000 physicians to 300 million patients throughout the world. The publication of this subject matter has arisen at a time when a preliminary World Health Organization report on homeopathy has drawn conclusions that are favorable to homeopathy.

Boiron Laboratories has always contributed to developing scientific, rigorous and medical homeopathy. The company recently announced that their investments in research and studies will be multiplied eightfold over the next 3 years.

"Homeopathy is born of science,” says Christian Boiron, chairman and president of Boiron Laboratories. “Every day, we are progressing thanks to science in our search for better efficacy of our medicines. For more than 200 years, homeopathy has globally demonstrated its therapeutic worth. This is no longer the time for doubt and sectarianism. The time has come for the systematic study of the possibilities and limits of homeopathic medicines in each disease.”

*Clinical Trials of Homeopathy. British Medical Journal (1991). Report to the European Commission (1996). A Meta-Analysis of Placebo-Controlled Trials. The Lancet (1997).