Florida on Saturday confirmed it is funding a clinical trial of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin as a cancer treatment, becoming the first US state to put taxpayer money behind the controversial therapy. State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo defended the program as expanding patient options.

The trial follows months of advocacy from alternative-medicine figures who have promoted repurposed drugs such as ivermectin and fenbendazole for oncology use. The Florida Department of Health said the study would evaluate the drug in combination with standard care, though it has not published a detailed protocol or named the participating institutions.

Oncologists affiliated with the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Cancer Society noted that no completed randomised human trial has shown ivermectin to be effective against cancer. Laboratory findings in cell cultures have not translated to patients, they said.

They warned that state endorsement risks steering patients away from proven treatments. The decision deepens a running conflict between Florida's health leadership under Governor Ron DeSantis and mainstream scientific institutions, after earlier clashes over Covid-19 vaccines and fluoride guidance.

Patient-safety advocates said the funding could normalise unproven therapies and expose vulnerable cancer patients to false hope. A spokesperson for a major US cancer center stated: "Repurposing approved drugs is a legitimate field, but it requires rigorous, properly powered trials and transparent protocols. Promoting ivermectin for cancer ahead of that evidence is not science, it is marketing."