Brussels, 25 July 2013 – The ECPC-European Cancer Patient Coalition  was greatly concerned by the content of article The Guardian on July 22, 2013, published on its website “Big pharma mobilising patients in battle over drugs trials data” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jul/21/big-pharma-secret-drugs-trials) with the subtitle  “The pharmaceutical industry has “mobilised” an army of patient groups to lobby against plans to force companies to publish secret documents on drugs trials.”

We condemn the generalized and unsubstantiated accusation that “an army of patients groups” are being “mobilised by Pharma to lobby against plans to force companies to publish secret documents on drugs trials”. ECPC is funded, among others, by the pharmaceutical industry as well as several of its more than 300 members across 42 countries in Europe and beyond. However, ECPC supports the publication of all results, positive or negative, of all clinical trials, irrespective of how they are funded. Patients by their enrolment in clinical trials contribute to research and societal good and therefore, they should have equal access to all results of all trials, as these results concern their own health and life.

ECPC supports alltrials.net petition for all clinical trials to be registered and reported regardless of their outcomes. In clinical trials, ECPC supports the registration of all trials by researchers and sponsors prior to the patient enrolment, rapid review processes, sound scientific scrutiny by researchers and clinicians and the use of open access web-based  resources and methods, enabling patients and their clinicians to be informed about potential new therapies and all trials results.

ECPC, the European Cancer Patient Coalition was established in 2003, under the slogan “Nothing About Us, Without Us” as a non-profit organization to act as an umbrella cancer patient group.  Over the last ten years, ECPC has grown in size and scope, and we are now the only European organization governed by cancer patient groups.

For more information please contact Prof. Francesco de Lorenzo, ECPC President, Francesco.delorenzo@ecpc-online.be, tel. +39335409663 or the Mrs. Kathi Apostolidis, Vice President, kathi.apostolidis@ecpc-online.org tel. +30-6977340758