Bavarian Homeopathy Study Wastes €800,000 Tax Money with No Effect

The Bavarian state parliament approved an €800,000 research project in 2019, the iHOM study, to examine whether homeopathic globules could reduce antibiotic use in women suffering recurrent urinary‑tract infections. The Technical University of Munich was tasked with carrying out the trial. Critics warned that homeopathy has been shown repeatedly to be ineffective, but the funding proceeded.

The study failed to recruit enough participants, resulting in insufficient data to demonstrate any impact on antibiotic consumption. Health Minister Judith Gerlach acknowledged the lack of results, and SPD health politician Ruth Waldmann denounced the experiment as "pure hokuspokus." Taxpayers ultimately spent hundreds of thousands of euros on a trial that produced no measurable benefit.