Thomas J. Borody (born 1950) is an Australian

gastroenterologist Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, ...

. In the 1980s Borody contributed to development of a treatment for ''Helicobacter pylori''. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

he became embroiled in controversy for advocating an

ivermectin Ivermectin (, '' EYE-vər-MEK-tin'') is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, today it is used to treat inf ...

-based purported "cure" for COVID-19 without transparently declaring his financial interest in it.

Biography

Borody was born in 1950 in Krakow, Poland. His father was a

Seventh-Day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

minister and the family immigrated to Australia when he was ten years old. Borody completed both his BSc(Med) and later MB BS degrees at the University of New South Wales, graduating in 1974. He studied Tropical Medicine at Sydney University and later gained practical experience in the Solomon Islands in 1978 in general parasitology and the treatment of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

before working at St Vincent's Hospital. He undertook postgraduate research at Sydney's

Garvan Institute of Medical Research The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an Australian biomedical research institute located in , Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Charity as a research department of St Vincent's Hospital, it is now one of Australi ...

, culminating in his MD, then at the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

in Rochester, Minnesota. After further research on return to Sydney, he was awarded his PhD and then Doctorate in Science. In 1984, Borody founded the Centre for Digestive Diseases (CDD) in

Five Dock, New South Wales Five Dock is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay. Location Fi ...

, a private day procedure hospital specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the digestive system, with a focus on infective diseases and novel and alternative treatment solutions. , Borody was a board member of RedHill Biopharma, an Israeli pharmaceutical company. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

in 2018.

Peptic ulcers

In the 1980s Borody contributed to development of a treatment for ''Helicobacter pylori'' that has now been superseded. He and his colleagues developed a "triple therapy" combining

bismuth Bismuth is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties resembling its lighter group 15 siblings arsenic and antimony. Elemental ...

tetracycline Tetracycline, sold under various brand names, is an oral antibiotic in the tetracyclines family of medications, used to treat a number of infections, including Acne vulgaris, acne, cholera, brucellosis, plague (disease), plague, malaria, and sy ...

and flagyl.

Fecal microbiota transplantation

Borody has used

fecal microbiota transplantation Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), also known as a stool transplant, is the process of transferring fecal bacteria and other microbes from a healthy individual into another individual. FMT is an effective treatment for ''Clostridioides diffici ...

as treatment for C''lostridium difficile'' infection. He has also spruiked FMT for all manner of indications, including irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis for which little evidence to support these indications.

COVID-19

In 2020 Borody announced that he had discovered a "cure" for COVID-19: a combination of

doxycycline Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum tetracycline class antibiotic used in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria and certain parasites. It is used to treat bacterial pneumonia, acne, chlamydia infections, Lyme disease, cholera, typhus, an ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

. In a media interview Borody stated "The biggest thing about this is no one will make money from this". It later emerged that Topelia Australia, Borody's company, had filed a patent for the drug combination. Borody was publicly accused of not adequately disclosing his

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

. Wendy Lipworth from The

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

's Health Ethics Centre described such behaviour as "blatantly unethical". Borody, via lawyers, denied wrongdoing. the

Australian Government Department of Health The Department of Health and Aged Care (DHAC), formerly the Department of Health, is a department of the Australian Government responsible for health research, funding, promotion and regulation in Australia. Primary health care and aged care s ...

says there is "insufficient evidence to recommend ivermectin, doxycycline and zinc (either separately, or in combination) for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19".

Publications

He has authored over 300 publications and regularly presents at gastroenterology conferences. He is a reviewer for a number of medical journals, including: * Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology * World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology and Therapeutics (Editorial Board) * American Journal of Gastroenterology * Digestive Diseases and Sciences Endoscopy * Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology * Medical Journal of Australia * Digestive and Liver Diseases

References