Physicians Pierre Kory, MD, and Paul Ellis Marik, MD, have had their certifications revoked by The American Board of Internal Medicine for leading an organization that promotes ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, according to an Aug. 15 report from Medscape.
Dr. Kory is no longer certified in critical care medicine, pulmonary disease and internal medicine and Dr. Marik is no longer certified in critical care medicine or internal medicine.
Dr. Marik is the chief scientific officer and Dr. Kory is president emeritus of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, a group they founded in March 2020 that advocates for ivermectin.
The group now promotes regimens of supplements to treat "vaccine injury" and also offers treatments for Lyme disease.
The board classies license revocation as the "loss of certification due to disciplinary action for which ABIM has determined that the conduct underlying the sanction does not warrant a defined pathway for restoration of certification at the time of disciplinary sanction."
"We believe this decision represents a dangerous shift away from the foundation principles of medical discourse and scientific debate that have historically been the bedrock of medical education associations," Dr. Marik and Dr. Kory said in a statement to Medscape.
The physicians were notified in May 2022 that they were facing potential disciplinary action. An ABIM committee recommended the revocation in July 2023, saying the two men were spreading "false or inaccurate medical information." Dr. Kory and Dr. Marik lost an appeal to keep their licenss.
In a 2023 statement, the physicians called the ABIM action an "attack on freedom of speech."
Dr. Kory is licensed in California, New York, and Wisconsin and "does not require this certification for his independent practice but is evaluating next steps with attorneys," according to a statement from FLCCC.
Dr. Marik, whose Virginia medical license expired in 2022, "is no longer treating patients and has dedicated his time and efforts to the FLCCC Alliance," the statement said.