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Lilly to Post Clinical Data

Website registry follows a push for public disclosure on drug risks

by Rick Mullin
August 9, 2004 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 82, Issue 32

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Credit: PHOTODISC
Lilly wants to answer the call for easy access to all clinical trial results.
Credit: PHOTODISC
Lilly wants to answer the call for easy access to all clinical trial results.

Eli Lilly says it plans to publish the results of all its drug clinical trials via a company-sponsored website. The announcement comes two months after New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed suit against GlaxoSmithKline alleging that GSK withheld negative information from trials of its antidepressant Paxil (paroxetine hydrochloride) in children.

Lilly, the first major drug company to commit to such a comprehensive public reporting scheme, says it will post results from early-phase through post-clinical trials, including results that do not support the hypothesis being tested or that are contrary to the expected outcome.

Other drug companies have said they plan to increase the amount of information they make public, but no others have announced a specific program. GSK, denying Spitzer's charges of "repeated and persistent fraud" regarding Paxil test results, has since posted data on the trials in question on its website. The firm says it is formulating a plan to publish all clinical trial data.

The drug industry is under mounting pressure to disclose complete information on clinical tests. In June, for example, the American Medical Association called for the Department of Health & Human Services to institute a comprehensive registry for all clinical trials launched in the U.S.

In New York, Spitzer has also called for Forest Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson to provide test and marketing data on drugs. J&J is reported to be among the drug firms claiming plans are under way for a company registry.

Lilly says its registry, due to debut by the end of the year, will include information on all existing drugs, including Zyprexa (olanzapine), a blockbuster antipsychotic that is the target of lawsuits alleging that the drug increases the risk of diabetes. The company says it will employ a third-party auditor to verify the data on the website.

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