PLOS strongly endorses Alltrials’ call for all trials to be registered and reported. It not only resonates with our core values but, moreover, at PLOS we provide specific, concrete ways that the call can be turned into action. As an open access publisher, PLOS was founded on the principle of increasing the availability of both papers reporting studies and the underlying data associated with studies and as has strong policies on data availability. From the very beginning of medical publishing at PLOS, in PLOS Medicine in 2004, we have always insisted on the prospective registration of trials and that protocols for clinical trials are submitted with the trial paper and published alongside it. In addition, we have a specific commitment to publishing the results of so-called negative trials, particularly in our journal PLOS ONE, which does not select papers on impact, but only on objective measures such as whether the work is done to high scientific and ethical standards, whether the work is appropriately described, and whether the data support the conclusions.We therefore welcome this new initiative and call on other publishers and medical journals to develop ways to make universal registration and reporting a reality, rather than just an aspiration.
