Ethical responsibilities for drug companies conducting clinical trials

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*Drug companies sponsoring human trials of possible new *medications* have ethical responsibilities to study *participants* and to science to disclose the results of their clinical research — even when product development is no longer being pursued, says a commentary co-authored by a leading UC Davis drug *researcher* published online today in Science Translational Medicine.* **

In the commentary, titled “Disclosure of Clinical Trial Results When Product Development is Abandoned,” Michael Rogawski, chair of the Department of Neurology in the UC Davis School of Medicine, says that far too little attention has been given to the failure to reveal study results for drugs or medical devices for which development has been terminated.

Rogawski, an international authority on the development of drugs for epilepsy, says companies most commonly stop development of an investigational drug when clinical trials fail to show evidence of efficacy or if unacceptable adverse events occur. However, in some cases development is terminated because regulatory agencies require additional studies and the company sponsoring the trial is unwilling to comply. Companies may also terminate a program because of a lack of resources or because of a “reevaluation of the market opportunity.” Ref and Read more: http://www.healthcanal.com/drugs-approvals-trials/21303-Drug-companies-must-report-clinical-trial-results-even-when-they-wont-lead-product.html

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