An idea has been brewing quietly for years among doctors, healthcare policy wonks, medical journal editors, and others who make it their business to keep a close eye on the workings of the pharmaceutical industry. In recent months, ordinary citizens, and the politicians who want their votes have become fired up about the issue, too, and the new pressure could help make the idea a reality: Pharmaceutical companies may soon be required to register their clinical trials and publicly disclose the results, whether they show a drug in a positive, negative, or lukewarm light.
The industry says it is willing to register some trials on a voluntary basis. But a battle over which studies should be made public, and at what stage the protocols and results should be revealed, is almost certainly forthcoming. Drug companies worry that revealing too much too soon could tip off competitors. Legislation is pending, however, ...
