U.K. committee calls for more trial transparency

The U.K. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee called on the U.K. Department of Health (DoH) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to ensure that drug companies register all clinical trials -- both prospectively and retrospectively -- and make full methods and data available to doctors and researchers. In a (see BioCentury Extra, Dec. 17, 2013).

The committee also recommended that NICE obtain full methods and results, including clinical study reports, for all trials for products it reviews and said NICE should put in place a formal information sharing agreement so it has access to information that drug companies provide MHRA during the drug review process. According to the committee, NICE currently does not have legal authority to demand information from companies, unlike Germany's Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare (IQWiG), which performs a similar role to NICE. NICE said it "will take account of the committee's recommendations." ...