Clinical trial transparency

We believe the occurrence, methods and results of clinical and health research involving patients - whether positive or negative - should be made swiftly available for patient, social and scientific benefit.

The Academy has followed the development of the AllTrials campaign with much interest and welcomes the contribution the campaign has made to the debate on, and efforts to, improve transparency in clinical and health research.

We support the principles underpinning the Alltrials petition. Our long-standing policy, affirmed by Council, is that as a Fellowship organisation, we cannot sign up to campaigns or petitions on behalf of all Fellows. Given the importance of transparency of clinical research we have drawn our 1000+ Fellows’ attention to the petition and encourage them to sign up in a personal capacity.

The Academy has responded to two inquiries on the topic of clinical trials transparency: the 2013 House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry into clinical trials and disclosure of data, and the 2019 HRA consultation 'Make It Public'. Our responses can be found on the right-hand side of this page.