The Abbey of Poitou, where were conducted medical trials outside the legal framework, regretted having "probably lacked discernment" by hosting the structure responsible for testing, even if it repeats not "to bear the responsibility" of activities of the groups she receives. The nuns of Sainte-Croix reaffirm that they "discovered, in the press, information about clinical trials that would have taken place at the abbey," in a statement released Sunday but reached AFP Monday. This text constitutes the first official reaction of the abbey since the revelation last Thursday of the tests by the Agency of the drug (ANSM).
"The reception is a tradition of monastic life," Sister Mireille, abbess of the Benedictine abbey located in Saint-Benoît, in the suburbs of Poitiers, said in a statement. "From time immemorial, we regularly welcome to the abbey different people coming in groups or individually.Our abbey is widely open for times of retreat, of silence ... for a few hours or a few days", recalls the abbess. "Our welcome is always respectful of everyone and discretion."
The seized justice
"Under no circumstances are we responsible for the activities of these groups," the abbey said in the statement. But "as regards the group 'Josefa', we probably lacked discernment," admits the abbey, referring to the endowment of professors Henri Joyeux and Jean-Bernard Fourtillan, who led the trials. "No doubt we should have looked a little further (...) We have not done, we lacked vigilance at this level," said Sister Mireille to an AFP correspondent.
The ANSM revealed last Thursday to have banned "a wild clinical trial" she said of a rare magnitude, with molecules tested, via patches, hoping to treat several neurological diseases. Dr. Joyeux refuted the term clinical trial, referring to a "scientific study prior to a clinical trial". In addition to the ban, the ANSM has also taken legal action. Health Minister Agnès Buzyn denounced "a real scandal".