British Medical Journal to Demand Transparency in Pharmaceutical Studies

Wow, it’s about time.   Good show BMJ!  Seems such an obvious safeguard, but the implicit rules of research were trampled by the drug companies, and it caught the academics off guard, to the detriment of the public. Follow the Money.

Medical Journal to Require More Details on Drug Trials
By KATIE THOMAS
The British Medical Journal has announced that, beginning in January, it will no longer publish the results of clinical trials unless drug companies and researchers agree to provide detailed study data on request.

What does the Pharmaceutical Industry say??  Basically whining that the drugs may not appear as awesome if they numbers were really scrutinized, that might interfere with profits.

He said the group had concerns about releasing such detailed data, saying it “could not only lead to misinterpretation of the risks and benefits of medicines, and potentially interfere with patient confidentiality, but would also deter future medical innovation if would-be competitors could access confidential commercial information.”