Debating secrets in Europe

OXFORD - European regulatory authorities are taking some first steps to increase the transparency of the process for drug approvals. But the process remains - and appears likely to remain - far more secretive than the comparable regulatory situation in the U.S. despite the call of some European campaigners for a more transparent and rigorous European drug approval system.

Most of Europe maintains a high degree of secrecy - enshrined in some cases through official secrets legislation - to cloak the proceedings that evaluate drugs for approval. The regulators suggest this is necessary to protect the trade secrets of pharmaceutical companies. Freedom of information campaigners argue, however, that the relatively open system at the FDA does not seem to have damaged the U.S. pharmaceutical industry...