7th May 2013
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today announced progress on its commitment to share more detailed data from its clinical trials. You can read more details on the GSK announcement here.
In response to the GSK announcement Ben Goldacre said: “GSK have made some great promises, and I hope they will deliver. Perhaps most significant is the discussion of collaboration with other companies, to develop a shared platform for access to trial data. These are systemic issues, and first movers will have a huge advantage.”
“There is an outdated view in some corners of industry that transparency is somehow optional, and that this issue can be wished away. Those backward looking companies, organisations, and individuals are taking a huge reputational hit, for little or no gain. It’s time for the ABPI, PhRMA, and other organisations to accept that the world has changed around them, show clear leadership, and move towards greater transparency.”
“Doctors, researchers, and patients need access to all the results, for all trials, of all uses, of all currently prescribed treatments, to make safe and informed decisions about which is best. The only discussion to be had on individual patient data is best practice for greater transparency. As the EMA have said: we need to discuss how, not whether, this will happen.”