How do patients who sign up for clinical trials know that the right questions are being asked and that the data support the reported answers to these questions? For many patient groups, transparency in study design, data collection and analysis, and full publication of results are issues of paramount importance. Concerns have been raised in recent years about the misreporting of trial results and we note a push by pharmaceutical companies for greater control of clinical trials and data, outside the framework of academia. In our view, a more equal partnership between academic researchers and the pharmaceutical industry is better for patients, especially those in early stages of disease for whom over-treatment and adverse, side effects are important considerations.
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