Abstract: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Influence of conflicts of interest on public positions in the COVID-19 era, the case of Gilead Sciences Y. Roussel1,2 and D. Raoult1,2 1) Institut Hospitalo-universitaire Méditerranée Infection and 2) Aix Marseille Université, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Assistance PubliqueHôpitaux de Marseille, Evolution Phylogénie et Infections (MEPHI), Marseille, France Abstract Funding and gifts from the pharmaceutical industry have an influence on the decisions made by physicians and medical experts. In the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic, several treatments are available to treat patients infected with the virus. Some are protected by patents, such as remdesivir, others0020stare not, such as hydroxychloroquine. We wanted to observe the possible correlation between the fact, for an academic doctor in infectious diseases, of having benefited from funding by Gilead Sciences, producer of remdesivir, and the public positions taken by this doctor towards hydroxychloroquine. Our results show a correlation (Spearman test, p = 0.017) between the amount received from the Gilead Sciences company and public opposition to the use of hydroxychloroquine in France. This should open up the debate on the role of the interest links of doctors with pharmaceutical companies in the medical and scientific public debate. © 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: Conflicts of interest, COVID1-19, hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, SARS-COV-2 Original Submission: 6 May 2020; Revised Submission: 14 May 2020; Accepted: 4 June 2020 Article published online: 6 June 2020 Corresponding author. D. Raoult, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Faculté de Médecine, Aix-Marseille Université, 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille, CEDEX 5, France. E-mail: didier.raoult@gmail.com