Data access is matter of trust

doi:10.1136/bmj.c134

Published 13 January 2010, doi:10.1136/bmj.c134
Cite this as: BMJ 2010;340:c134

Letters

The truth about Tamiflu?

Data access is matter of trust

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

The UK Faculty of Public Health strongly supports the BMJ’scall for mandatory disclosure of raw data of all trials citedin drug licensing applications and marketing claims.¹

We see this as a first step towards a position in which onlyexternal independent trials published in peer reviewed journals,with full access to raw data, should be allowable when seekinga licence or marketing a product. This would require internationalagreement by health technology regulators.

Interpreting the evidence base for healthcare planning and commissioningis a key public health function. Full disclosure and opennessto scrutiny of evidence on efficacy and safety are crucial ifthe pharmaceutical industry is to maintain the full trust andconfidence of patients, practitioners, policy makers, and thewider public.

Cite this as: BMJ 2010;340:c134

Alan R Maryon-Davis, president¹

¹ UK Faculty of Public Health, London NW1 4LB

president@fph.org.uk

Competing interests: None declared.