View source for Luc Montagnier

{{short description|French virologist and joint recipient of a Nobel Prize}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
| image = Luc Montagnier-press conference Dec 06th, 2008-6.jpg
| caption = Luc Montagnier, 2008
| birth_name = Luc Antoine Montagnier
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1932|8|18|df=yes}}
| birth_place = {{lang|fr|[[Chabris]], [[Centre-Val de Loire|Région Centre]]|italic=no}}, France
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| home_town = [[Shanghai]], [[China]]
| citizenship = 
| nationality = French
| fields = [[Virology]]
| workplaces = {{Plainlist}}
* [[Pasteur Institute]]
* [[Shanghai Jiao Tong University]]
{{Endplainlist}}
| alma_mater = [[University of Paris]]
| doctoral_advisor = 
| academic_advisors = 
| doctoral_students = 
| notable_students = 
| known_for = Discoverer of [[HIV]]
| author_abbrev_bot = 
| author_abbrev_zoo = 
| influences = 
| influenced = 
| awards = {{Plainlist}}
* 1986 [[Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine]]<ref>[https://www.jeantet.ch/en/prix-louis-jeantet/laureats/1986-en/ Louis-Jeantet Prize]</ref>
* 1988 [[Japan Prize]]
* 2008 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]]
{{Endplainlist}}
| signature = <!--(filename only)-->
| footnotes = 
}}

'''Luc Antoine Montagnier''' ({{IPAc-en|US|ˌ|m|ɒ|n|t|ən|ˈ|j|eɪ|,_|ˌ|m|oʊ|n|t|ɑː|n|ˈ|j|eɪ}};<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Montagnier|access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|m|ə|n|ˈ|-}},<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Montagnier|access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref> {{IPA-fr|mɔ̃taɲe|lang}}; born 18 August 1932) is a French [[virology|virologist]] and joint recipient, with {{lang|fr|[[Françoise Barré-Sinoussi]]|italic=no}} and {{lang|de|[[Harald zur Hausen]]|italic=no}}, of the 2008 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus ([[HIV]]).<ref name="BBC_Nobel"/> He has worked as a researcher at the [[Pasteur Institute]] in Paris and as a full-time professor at [[Shanghai Jiao Tong University]] in China.<ref name="sjtu"/>

==History of the discovery of HIV==

In 1982, [[Willy Rozenbaum]], a clinician at the ''[[Hôpital Bichat]]'' hospital in [[Paris]], asked Montagnier for assistance in establishing the cause of a mysterious new [[syndrome]], AIDS (known at the time as "[[gay-related immune deficiency]]" or GRID). Rozenbaum had suggested at scientific meetings that the cause of the disease might be a [[retrovirus]]. Montagnier and members of his group at the [[Pasteur Institute]], notably including [[Françoise Barré-Sinoussi]] and [[Jean-Claude Chermann]], had extensive experience with retroviruses. Montagnier and his team examined samples taken from Rozenbaum's AIDS patients and found the virus that would later become known as HIV in a [[lymph node]] [[biopsy]]. They named it "lymphadenopathy-associated virus", or LAV, since it was not then clear that it was the cause of AIDS, and published their findings in the journal ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' on 20 May 1983.<ref name="Science4599"/>

A team led by [[Robert Gallo]] of the United States published similar findings in the same issue of ''Science'' and later confirmed the discovery of the virus and presented evidence that it caused AIDS. Gallo called the virus "human T-lymphotropic virus type III" (HTLV-III) because of perceived similarities with HTLV-I and -II, which had previously been discovered in his lab.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Popovic M, Sarngadharan MG, Read E, Gallo RC|title=Detection, isolation, and continuous production of cytopathic retroviruses (HTLV-III) from patients with AIDS and pre-AIDS|journal=Science|volume=224|issue=4648|pages=497–500|year=1984|pmid=6200935|doi=10.1126/science.6200935|bibcode=1984Sci...224..497P }}</ref> Because of the timing of the discoveries, whether Montagnier's or Gallo's group was first to isolate HIV was for many years the subject of an acrimonious dispute. HIV isolates usually have a high degree of variability because the virus mutates rapidly. In comparison, the first two-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates, Lai/LAV (formerly LAV, isolated at the Pasteur Institute) and Lai/IIIB (formerly HTLV-IIIB, isolated from a pooled culture at the Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology (LTCB) of the [[National Cancer Institute]]) were strikingly similar in sequence, suggesting that the two isolates were in fact the same, or at least shared a common source.

In November 1990, the [[United States Office of Research Integrity|Office of Scientific Integrity]] at the [[National Institutes of Health]] attempted to clear up the matter by commissioning a group at [[Hoffmann–La Roche|Roche]] to analyze archival samples established at the Pasteur Institute and the Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology (LTCB) of the National Cancer Institute between 1983 and 1985. The group, led by Sheng-Yung Chang, examined archival specimens and concluded in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' in 1993 that Gallo's virus had come from Montagnier's lab.

Chang determined that the French group's LAV was a virus from one patient that had contaminated a culture from another. On request, Montagnier's group had sent a sample of this culture to Gallo, not knowing it contained two viruses. It then contaminated the pooled culture on which Gallo was working.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Sheng-Yung P. Chang|author2=Barbara H. Bowman|author3=Judith B. Weiss|author4=Rebeca E. Garcia|author5=Thomas J. White|year=1993|title=The origin of HIV-1 isolate HTLV-IIIB|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=363|pages=466–469|doi=10.1038/363466a0|issue=6428|pmid=8502298|bibcode=1993Natur.363..466C |s2cid=4288880}} (Open access)</ref>

Before the 1993 publication of Chang's results, Gallo's lab was accused and initially found guilty of "minor misconduct" by the Office of Scientific Integrity in 1991, and then by the newly created [[United States Office of Research Integrity|Office of Research Integrity]] in 1992 for the misappropriation of a sample of HIV produced at the Pasteur Institute.<ref name=sumf>{{cite web|url=http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/unh_round1/www.unh.edu/rcr/Misconduct-FraudGoTo2.htm|title=Summary of fraud accusation|publisher=Ori.hhs.gov|access-date=15 May 2012}}</ref> The subsequent publication in 1993 of Chang's investigation cleared Gallo's lab of the charges, although his reputation had already been tainted by the accusations.

Today it is agreed that Montagnier's group first isolated HIV,<ref>{{cite web|last=Enserink|first=Martin|url=http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/1006/1|title=Nobel Prize Surprise – ScienceNOW|publisher=Sciencenow.sciencemag.org|access-date=15 May 2012}}</ref> but Gallo's group is credited with discovering that the virus causes AIDS and with generating much of the science that made the discovery possible, including a technique previously developed by Gallo's lab for growing [[T cell]]s in the laboratory.<ref name=Morgan76>{{cite journal|author1=DA Morgan|author2=FW Ruscetti|author3=R Gallo|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/193/4257/1007|title=Selective in vitro growth of T lymphocytes from normal human bone marrows|journal=Science|volume=193|issue=4257|pages=1007–1008|publisher=Sciencemag.org|date=10 September 1976|access-date=15 May 2012|doi=10.1126/science.181845|pmid=181845|bibcode=1976Sci...193.1007M}}</ref> When Montagnier's group first published their discovery, they said HIV's role in causing AIDS "remains to be determined."<ref name="science nobel">{{cite news|title=HIV, HPV Researchers Honored, But One Scientist is Left Out|work=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|date=October 2008|volume=322|pages=149–328}}</ref>

The question of whether the true discoverers of the virus were French or American was more than a matter of prestige. A US government patent for the AIDS test, filed by the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] and based on what was claimed to be Gallo's identification of the virus, was at stake. In 1987, both governments attempted to end the dispute by arranging to split the prestige of the discovery and the proceeds from the patent 50–50,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hilts|first=Philip|title=U.S. Drops Misconduct Case Against an AIDS Researcher|work=New York Times|date=13 November 1993|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9F0CEFDB1F3BF930A25752C1A965958260}}</ref> naming Montagnier and Gallo co-discoverers.<ref name="science nobel"/> The two scientists continued to dispute each other's claims until 1987.

It was not until French President [[François Mitterrand]] and American President [[Ronald Reagan]] met in person that the major issues were ironed out. The scientific protagonists finally agreed to share credit for the discovery of HIV, and in 1986, both the French and the US names (LAV and HTLV-III) were dropped in favor of the new term ''human immunodeficiency virus'' (virus de l'immunodéficience humaine, abbreviated HIV or VIH) (Coffin, 1986). They concluded that the origin of the HIV-1 Lai/IIIB isolate discovered by Gallo was the same as that discovered by Montagnier (but not known by Montagnier to cause AIDS). This compromise allowed Montagnier and Gallo to end their feud and collaborate with each other again, writing a chronology that appeared in ''Nature'' that year.<ref name="science nobel"/>

On 29 November 2002 issue of ''Science'', Gallo and Montagnier published a series of articles, one of which was co-written by both scientists, in which they acknowledged the pivotal roles that each had played in the discovery of HIV.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Montagnier L|year=2002|title=Historical essay. A History of HIV Discovery|journal=Science|volume=298|issue=5599|pages=1727–8|doi=10.1126/science.1079027|pmid=12459575 |s2cid=57481800}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Gallo RC|year=2002|title=Historical essay. The Early Years of HIV/AIDS|journal=Science|volume=298|issue=5599|pages=1728–30|doi=10.1126/science.1078050|pmid=12459576 |s2cid=82899411}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Gallo RC, Montagnier L|year=2002|title=Historical essay. Prospects for the Future|journal=Science|volume=298|issue=5599|pages=1730–1|doi=10.1126/science.1079864|pmid=12459577 |s2cid=34227893}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==

The 2008 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] was awarded to Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi for the discovery of HIV.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/health/07nobel.html?hp|work=The New York Times|title=Discoverers of AIDS and Cancer Viruses Win Nobel|first=Lawrence K.|last=Altman|date=7 October 2008|access-date=11 May 2010}}</ref> They shared the Prize with [[Harald zur Hausen]], who discovered that [[human papilloma virus]]es can cause [[cervical cancer]].<ref name="science nobel"/><ref name="nytimes-nobel">{{cite news|work=New York Times|date=6 October 2008|access-date=6 October 2008|last=Altman|first=Lawrence|title=Three Europeans Win the 2008 Nobel for Medicine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/health/07nobel.html}}</ref> Montagnier said he was "surprised" that Robert Gallo was not also recognized by the Nobel Committee: "It was important to prove that HIV was the cause of AIDS, and Gallo had a very important role in that. I'm very sorry for Robert Gallo."<ref name="science nobel"/> According to Maria Masucci, a member of the [[Nobel Assembly]], "there was no doubt as to who made the fundamental discoveries."<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

Montagnier is the co-founder of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention and co-directs the Program for International Viral Collaboration. He is the founder and a former president of the Houston-based [[World Foundation for Medical Research and Prevention]]. He has received more than 20 major awards, including the [[National Order of Merit (France)|National Order of Merit]] (Commander, 1986) and the [[Légion d'honneur]] (Knight: 1984; Officer: 1990; Commander: 1993; Grand Officer: 2009),<ref name="jofr20090101">
{{Cite journal
|journal=[[Journal Officiel de la République Française|JORF]]
|volume=2009
|issue=1
|title=Décret du 31 décembre 2008 portant élévation et nomination aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier
|date=1 January 2009
|page=14
|id=PREX0828225D
|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=PREX0828225D
|access-date=10 March 2009
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://montagnier.org/Luc-Montagnier-honors-and-awards|title=montagnier.org|website=montagnier.org|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> He is a recipient of the [[Lasker Award]] and the [[Scheele Award]] (1986), the [[Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine|Louis-Jeantet Prize for medicine]] (1986), the [[Gairdner Foundation International Award|Gairdner Award]] (1987), the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] (1987),<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref> [[King Faisal International Prize]] (1993) (known as the Arab Nobel Prize), and the [[Prince of Asturias Award]] (2000). He is also a member of the [[Académie Nationale de Médecine]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20130213080641/http://www.academie-medecine.fr/detailMembre.cfm?idRub=19&idLigne=130858]</ref>

Montagnier was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from [[Whittier College]] in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whittier.edu/alumni/poetnation/honorary|title=Honorary Degrees {{!}} Whittier College|website=www.whittier.edu|access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref>

==Research on electromagnetic signals from DNA==

{{Undue weight section|date=January 2019}}
{{Main|DNA teleportation}}
In 2009, Montagnier published two independently made, controversial research studies, one of which was entitled "Electromagnetic Signals Are Produced by Aqueous Nanostructures Derived from Bacterial DNA Sequences."  Jeff Reimers of the University of Sydney said that, if its conclusions are true, "these would be the most significant experiments performed in the past 90 years, demanding re-evaluation of the whole conceptual framework of modern chemistry".<ref name=Coghlan/> The paper concludes that diluted DNA from pathogenic bacterial and viral species is able to emit specific radio waves" and that "these radio waves [are] associated with ‘nanostructures’ in the solution that might be able to recreate the pathogen".

They were published in a new journal of which he is chairman of the editorial board,<ref name=ISCLS_board/> allegedly<ref name=Coghlan/> detecting [[Electromagnetic wave|electromagnetic signals]] from bacterial [[DNA]] (''M. pirum'' and ''E. coli'') in water that had been prepared using agitation and high dilutions,<ref name=Montagnier_2009_v1_n2>Montagnier, L, Aäissa, J ''et al'', [https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12539-009-0036-7 "Electromagnetic Signals Are Produced by Aqueous Nanostructures Derived from Bacterial DNA Sequences"]. ''[[Interdisciplinary Sciences: Computational Life Sciences]]'', 6 January 2009, Volume 1, Number 2, 81–90, {{doi|10.1007/s12539-009-0036-7}} Retrieved 27 January 2011.</ref> and similar research on electromagnetic detection of HIV RNA in the blood of AIDS patients treated by [[antiretroviral therapy]].<ref name=Montagnier_2009_v1_n4>Montagnier, L, Aäissa, J ''et al'', [https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12539-009-0059-0 "Electromagnetic detection of HIV DNA in the blood of AIDS patients treated by antiretroviral therapy"]. ''[[Interdisciplinary Sciences: Computational Life Sciences]]'', 3 July 2009, Volume 1, Number 4, 245–253, {{doi|10.1007/s12539-009-0059-0}} Retrieved 27 January 2011</ref>

On 28 June 2010, Montagnier spoke at the [[Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting]] in Germany,<ref name=Lindau>[http://www.lindau-nobel.org/PublicMeetingProgram.AxCMS?Meeting=278 Program (2010 – 60th Meeting of Nobel Laureates (3rd interdisciplinary))] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217005305/http://lindau-nobel.org/PublicMeetingProgram.AxCMS?Meeting=278 |date=17 December 2010 }}, Meeting on 28 June 2010</ref> "where 60 Nobel prize winners had gathered, along with 700 other scientists, to discuss the latest breakthroughs in medicine, chemistry and physics."<ref name=Australian/> He "stunned his colleagues ... when he presented a new method for detecting viral infections that bore close parallels to the basic tenets of homeopathy. Although fellow Nobel prize winners – who view [[homeopathy]] as [[quackery]] – were left openly shaking their heads, Montagnier's comments were rapidly embraced by homeopaths eager for greater credibility. Cristal Sumner, of the [[British Homeopathic Association]], said Montagnier's work gave homeopathy 'a true scientific ethos'."<ref name=Australian>[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/nobel-laureate-gives-homeopathy-a-boost/story-e6frg8y6-1225887772305 Nobel laureate gives homeopathy a boost.] ''[[The Australian]]'' 5 July 2010</ref>

When asked by Canada's CBC ''[[Marketplace (Canadian TV program)|Marketplace]]'' program if his work was indeed a theoretical basis for homeopathy as homeopaths had claimed, Montagnier replied that one "cannot extrapolate it to the products used in homeopathy".<ref name="cbc">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2011-episodes/cure-or-con |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144840/http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2011-episodes/cure-or-con |title=Cure Or Con? |archive-date=13 April 2014 |publisher=CBC Marketplace }} Approx 17:00 of 22:29.</ref>

===Responses, criticisms and interview===

The paper has met with harsh criticism for not being peer-reviewed, and its claims unsubstantiated by modern mainstream conventions of physics and chemistry. No third party has replicated the findings as of March 2015. In response to Montagnier's statement that the generally unfavorable response is due to the "non-understanding or misunderstanding of the breakthrough findings", blogger [[Andy Lewis (blogger)|Andy Lewis]] has written that he has found it difficult to assert what the paper "actually claims" and that "The paper [...] lacks any rigour. [...]", as "important experimental steps are described dismissively in a sentence and little attempt is made to describe the detail of the work".<ref name=AL>Lewis, A, ''et al'', [http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2009/10/why-i-am-nominating-luc-montagnier-for.html "Why I am Nominating Luc Montagnier for an IgNobel Prize"]. Retrieved 3 March 2015.</ref>
While homeopaths claim his research as support for homeopathy, many scientists have greeted it with scorn and harsh criticism.<ref name=Coghlan/><ref name=PZ_Myers/><ref name=NS_editorial/>

Because the research used high dilutions, homeopaths claimed it supported homeopathy, even though it didn't mention homeopathy:

: On 14 September 2009, Louise Mclean posted on the "Homeopathy World Community" website: "Luc Montagnier Foundation Proves Homeopathy Works",<ref name=Mclean>[http://www.homeopathyworldcommunity.com/group/latesthomeopathynews/forum/topics/luc-montagnier-foundation "Luc Montagnier Foundation Proves Homeopathy Works"]. "Homeopathy World Community" website, 14 September 2009</ref> and on 6 October 2009, homeopathic promoter Dana Ullman responded to a criticism of homeopathy by writing: "And I assume that you all have seen the new research by Nobel Prize-winning virologist Luc Montagnier that provides significant support to homeopathy."<ref name=Ullman_SBM>Dana Ullman, [http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=2005 Dana Ullman's comment of 6 October 2009]</ref> (On 30 January 2011, Ullman responded to Montagnier's comment on "homeopathy" and "high dilutions" in his 24 December 2010 ''Science'' interview by writing an article entitled "Luc Montagnier, Nobel Prize Winner, Takes Homeopathy Seriously". In the article he repeated his claim's that Montagnier's studies supported homeopathy.<ref name=Ullman>Dana Ullman, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/luc-montagnier-homeopathy-taken-seriously_b_814619.html "Luc Montagnier, Nobel Prize Winner, Takes Homeopathy Seriously"], ''[[Huffington Post]]'', 30 January 2011</ref>)

Criticism of the claims of homeopaths followed:

: On 20 October 2010, [[Harriet A. Hall]] responded specifically to these claims by homeopaths: "Nope. Sorry, guys. It doesn’t. In fact, its findings are inconsistent with homeopathic theory... Homeopaths who believe Montagnier’s study supports homeopathy are only demonstrating their enormous capacity for self-deception." She went on to analyze the studies and pointed out a number of flaws, stating: "...even assuming the results are valid, they tend to discredit homeopathy, not support it... Homeopathy is a system of clinical treatment that can only be validated by ''in vivo'' clinical trials."<ref name=Hall>[[Harriet A. Hall]], [http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=2081 "The Montagnier 'Homeopathy' Study"], ''[[Science-Based Medicine (website)|Science-Based Medicine]]'', 20 October 2009</ref>

In a 24 December 2010 ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' magazine interview entitled "French Nobelist Escapes ‘Intellectual Terror’ to Pursue Radical Ideas in China", he was questioned about his research and plans. In the interview he stated that [[Jacques Benveniste]], whose controversial [[homeopathy|homeopathic]] work had been discredited, was "a modern [[Galileo]]". When asked if he wasn't "worried that your colleagues will think you have drifted into pseudo-science?", he replied "No, because it’s not [[pseudoscience]]. It’s not [[quackery]]. These are real phenomena which deserve further study." He also mentioned that his applications for funding had been turned down and that he was leaving his home country to set up shop in China so he could escape what he called the "intellectual terror" which he claimed had prevented others from publishing their results. He says that China's [[Shanghai Jiao Tong University]] is more "open minded" to his research. There he is chairman of the editorial board<ref name=ISCLS_board>[https://www.springer.com/life+sciences/bioinformatics/journal/12539?detailsPage=editorialBoard Montagnier is listed as Chairman of the Editorial Board] of the journal ''[[Interdisciplinary Sciences: Computational Life Sciences]]''</ref> of a new journal which publishes his research.<ref name=Enserink/>

Montagnier was also questioned on his beliefs about homeopathy, to which he replied: "I can’t say that homeopathy is right in everything. What I can say now is that the high dilutions are right. High dilutions of something are not nothing. They are water structures which mimic the original molecules. We find that with DNA, we cannot work at the extremely high dilutions used in homeopathy; we cannot go further than a 10<sup>−18</sup> dilution, or we lose the signal. But even at 10<sup>−18</sup>, you can calculate that there is not a single molecule of DNA left. And yet we detect a signal."<ref name=Enserink>Martin Enserink, [http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6012/1732.summary "Newsmaker Interview: Luc Montagnier. French Nobelist Escapes "Intellectual Terror" to Pursue Radical Ideas in China"], ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' 24 December 2010: 1732. {{doi|10.1126/science.330.6012.1732}} [https://www.scribd.com/doc/47426344/Luc-Montagnier-French-Nobelist-on-homeopathy Full article mirror]</ref>

A 12 January 2011 ''[[New Scientist]]'' editorial described the controversial nature of the research, while also noting how many researchers "reacted with disbelief", with [[Gary Schuster]] comparing it to "[[pathological science]]."<ref name=Coghlan/> Biology professor [[PZ Myers]] also described it as "pathological science." He described the paper as "one of the more unprofessional write-ups I've ever run across", and criticized the publication process as having an "unbelievable turnaround" time: "another suspicious sign are the dates. This paper was submitted on 3 January 2009, revised on 5 January 2009, and accepted on 6 January 2009", leading him to ask: "Who reviewed this, the author's mother? Maybe someone even closer. Guess who the chairman of the editorial board is: Luc Montagnier."<ref name=PZ_Myers/>

On 25 May 2012, he gave the keynote address<ref name=AO2012/> at the 2012 AutismOne conference in Chicago. Similar to the controversy he aroused by extolling homeopathy, his latest group, Chronimed, claims to have made a discovery for [[autistic]] children that was sharply criticized<ref name=Forbes/> by scientist [[Steven Salzberg]].

===Legal battle over patent===

In 2009, Montagnier became involved in a legal battle with inventor Bruno Robert over the intellectual property rights to the techniques used in the aforementioned research. Robert, who had tried to succeed the company Digibio created by Jacques Benveniste, approached Montagnier in May 2005 regarding his work on electromagnetic signals. 
In November 2005, Robert registered a patent for the process of homing in on a "biochemical element presenting a biological activity through the analysis of low-frequency electromagnetic signals." This patent was in fact written by Montagnier from results obtained between July and November 2005.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}} A month later, [[Institut national de la propriété industrielle|INPI]], France's patents body, received a request for the same patent from Montagnier,<ref name=Montagnier_patent>{{cite web|url=http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=WO&NR=2007068831A2&KC=A3&FT=D&date=20070809&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP|title=Montagnier's patent application|publisher=V3.espacenet.com|access-date=15 May 2012}}</ref> which was criticized by the patent examiner on multiple points, including the following:

: "... the invention is based on phenomena which contradict the fundamental principle of physics and of chemistry, i.e. the existence of biological or effect without an active molecule and no explanation or theoretical basis makes it impossible at the current time to explain the results obtained."<ref name=patent_examiner>[http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wads.jsp?IA=FR2006002735&LANGUAGE=EN&ID=id00000006560269&VOL=89&DOC=000162&WO=07/068831&WEEK=NA&TYPE=NA&DOC_TYPE=ETWOS&PAGE=10 Patent examiner's assessment, p. 10]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. ''[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]'' (WIPO), United Nations</ref><!--- The WIPO website's download of this document can be slow and sometimes it only downloads the first of the eleven pages. Try again later. -->

Montagnier took Robert to court, claiming that he had intellectual property rights over this process. However, Robert's lawyer alleged that Montagnier had already admitted that he had not come up with the discovery, as he had signed a contract to use Robert's technique in 2005.
In response, Montagnier's lawyer said the pair had only signed a "protocol agreement" which was not legally binding.<ref name="bruno_case">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/4959505/Man-who-co-discovered-HIV-accused-of-stealing-rights-to-Aids-cure.html|last=Samuel|first=Henry|date=8 March 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=4 August 2009|location=London|title=Man who co-discovered HIV accused of stealing rights to Aids cure}}</ref> In July 2009, the court ruled that Robert's 2005 patent application was 'fraudulent', because it had subtracted all of Montagnier's contribution, which the court estimated at 50%.<ref>http://www.lematin.ch/flash-info/luc-montagnier-gagne-proces-paternite-brevets-contre-bruno-robert {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218063756/http://www.lematin.ch/flash-info/luc-montagnier-gagne-proces-paternite-brevets-contre-bruno-robert|date=18 February 2012 }}</ref>

==Coronavirus pandemic==

Montagnier argued that the [[Coronavirus disease 2019]] was man-made in a laboratory and that it might have been the result of an attempt to create a vaccine for [[HIV/AIDS]]. His allegation came after the United States had launched a probe into whether the virus came from a laboratory. According to Montagnier, the "presence of elements of HIV and germ of malaria in the genome of coronavirus is highly suspect and the characteristics of the virus could not have arisen naturally."<ref>{ Perez, J. C., & Montagnier, L. (2020). COVID-19, SARS AND BATS CORONAVIRUSES GENOMES PECULIAR HOMOLOGOUS RNA SEQUENCES. International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 8(7), 217-263. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i7.2020.678 and https://zenodo.org/record/3975578  }</ref> However this was described as "a conspiracy vision that does not relate to the real science" by Jean-Francois Delfraissy, an immunologist and head of the scientific council that advises the French government on the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-04/21/c_138995413.htm |title=COVID-19 virus not created in lab, say French experts|access-date=April 25, 2020}}</ref> An article in the magazine ''[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]'' explained how scientists refuted his claim.<ref name="Bast_4/22/2020">{{cite web | last=Bast | first=Felix | title=A Nobel Laureate Said the New Coronavirus Was Made in a Lab. He's Wrong. | website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]] | date=April 22, 2020 | url=https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/luc-montagnier-coronavirus-wuhan-lab-pseudoscience/ | access-date=May 14, 2020}}</ref>
The Yucatán Times published an article<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/04/coronavirus-was-created-in-a-laboratory-nobel-prize-winner-luc-montagnier/ | title=Coronavirus was created in a laboratory – Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier | website=The Yucatan Times| date=April 29, 2020 | access-date=October 11, 2020}}</ref> on April 29, 2020 which includes the French television interview where Montagnier discusses the splicing of HIV into SARS-CoV-2.

==See also==

*''[[And the Band Played On]]'', a book written about the discovery of AIDS
**''[[And the Band Played On (film)|And the Band Played On]]'', a film based on the book
*[[History of RNA biology]]
*[[HIV trial in Libya]]
*[[List of RNA biologists]]

==References==

<references>
<ref name="BBC_Nobel">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7654214.stm|title=news.bbc.co.uk, Nobel prize for viral discoveries|work=BBC News|date=6 October 2008|access-date=15 May 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="sjtu">{{cite web|url=http://en.sjtu.edu.cn/news/sjtu-appointed-luc-montagnier-university-chair-professor/|title=SJTU Appointed Luc Montagnier University Chair Professor|publisher=En.sjtu.edu.cn|access-date=15 May 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Science4599">{{cite journal|vauthors=Barré-Sinoussi F, Chermann JC, Rey F, Nugeyre MT, Chamaret S, Gruest J, Dauguet C, Axler-Blin C, Vézinet-Brun F, Rouzioux C, Rozenbaum W, Montagnier L|title=Isolation of a T-lymphotropic retrovirus from a patient at risk for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)|journal=Science|volume=220|issue=4599|pages=868–871|year=1983|pmid=6189183|doi=10.1126/science.6189183|bibcode=1983Sci...220..868B|s2cid=390173|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/7872732fd9c2e2bc5102408b477a8fd7adbe633f}}</ref> 
<ref name=Coghlan>Andy Coghlan, [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927952.900-scorn-over-claim-of-teleported-dna.html "Scorn over claim of teleported DNA"], ''[[New Scientist]]'' 12 January 2011, issue 2795</ref>
<ref name=PZ_Myers>[[PZ Myers]], [http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/01/24/it-almost-makes-me-disbelieve/ "It almost makes me disbelieve that HIV causes AIDS!"], ''Pharyngula'', 24 January 2011</ref>
<ref name=NS_editorial>Editorial, [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927951.900-why-we-have-to-teleport-disbelief.html "Why we have to teleport disbelief"], ''[[New Scientist]]'' 12 January 2011, issue 2795</ref>
<ref name=AO2012>Announcement of public appearance, [http://www.autismone.org/search_site/content?tid=All&keys=montagnier "Keynote: The microbial track"], 25 May 2012</ref>
<ref name=Forbes>Editorial, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2012/05/27/nobel-laureate-joins-anti-vaccination-crowd-at-autism-one/ "Nobel laureate joins anti-vaccination crowd at Autism One"], ''[[Forbes]]'' 27 May 2012</ref>
</references>

{{Commons category|Luc Montagnier}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081208185155/http://www.pasteur.fr/ip/easysite/go/03b-000027-00i/the-discovery-of-the-aids-virus-in-1983 The discovery of the AIDS virus in 1983] – Official position of the [[Pasteur Institute]].
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel lecture 7 December 2008 ''25 Years after HIV Discovery: Prospects for Cure and Vaccine''
*[https://archive.today/20121204145538/www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1435029.php/PROFILE_Luc_Montagnier_Francoise_Barre-Sinoussi_-_AIDS_pioneers_ PROFILE: Luc Montagnier, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi – AIDS pioneers]
*[http://montagnier.org/-Luc-Montagnier-Foundation- Luc Montagnier Foundation]

{{2008 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureates 2001-2025}}
{{Heineken Prizes}}
{{Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research}}
{{COVID-19 pandemic}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montagnier, Luc}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:Autism researchers]]
[[Category:French biologists]]
[[Category:French medical researchers]]
[[Category:French Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:French virologists]]
[[Category:Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS researchers]]
[[Category:Homeopathy]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts]]
[[Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization]]
[[Category:Members of the French Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine]]
[[Category:Queens College, City University of New York faculty]]
[[Category:Graduate Center, CUNY faculty]]
[[Category:Pasteur Institute]]
[[Category:People from Indre]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award]]
[[Category:Winners of the Heineken Prize]]
[[Category:French health activists]]
[[Category:French conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:COVID-19 conspiracy theorists]]