The Emergence and Growth of Clinical Trial Information Transparency

Abstract

Clinical trial disclosure initiatives have slowly emerged in response to stakeholder and public response to questions of safety and efficacy of drugs and perceived secrecy by the pharmaceutical industry. Originally, clinical trial disclosure and transparency activities focused upon therapeutic compounds of interest to seriously ill patients who hoped that by participating in clinical trials, they might contribute to the development of effective drug treatments for their disease and to the common good. Over the years, additional stakeholders have entered the discussion, causing an expansion in the transparency requirements, from meeting patients' and their physicians' needs for information to meeting researcher, insurer, and legislator needs. This article provides a brief look at the history of the clinical trial disclosure initiative as it has evolved worldwide.