Glaxo Opens Door to Data on Its Research

The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Thursday, October 11, 2012

Glaxo Opens Door to Data on Its Research

By KATIE THOMAS

GlaxoSmithKline plans to open up much of its drug research in an apparent effort to deflect criticism that important information gathered in clinical trials often does not see the light of day.

The move, a first for a major pharmaceutical company, is scheduled to be announced on Thursday by its chief executive, Andrew Witty, in London.

Researchers contacted about the plan on Wednesday expressed a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism, citing the recent $3 billion settlement by GlaxoSmithKline with the federal government over charges that the company had misrepresented trial data for popular drugs like Avandia and Paxil.

Still, the company is taking a step in the right direction, the researchers said, and might set a precedent in an industry that could use more transparency.

“This is a reason to celebrate a company stepping forward to make a public commitment to sharing their data at the individual patient level and fostering open science,” said Dr. Harlan M. Krumholz, a cardiologist at the Yale School of Medicine who has been an advocate for more open sharing of data. “The hope is that it would make it untenable for other companies not to follow suit.”

Whether more disclosure might lead to safer, more effective drugs remains to be seen. GlaxoSmithKline, a British drug concern, will open its clinical trial data to other researchers once a drug has completed the approval process or been abandoned.

Glaxo is taking the step after experimenting with disclosure for treatments for tropical diseases like malaria and finding those efforts successful, according to company officials.

In addition, the company plans to release information about 200 of its experimental drug compounds that have shown signs of fighting tuberculosis.

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