Transparency campaigners make gains in clinical trials battle

All authors of clinical trials in the European Union will have to register on a publicly accessible database and upload a summary of results within a year of their trial’s completion, stipulates EU legislation now being finalised.

The requirements, which will apply to drug companies as well as academic researchers, are part of a wider move to streamline rules on clinical trials across the EU and represent a major victory for campaigners for transparency in research. They are also designed to facilitate cross border trials to encourage larger, more reliable trials, including those focusing on rare diseases.

The British Labour member of the …