New EU trials tracker reveals that half of European clinical trials have broken reporting rules

A new interactive online tool has been launched by the AllTrials campaign to highlight the number of European clinical trials that have not reported results. EU rules state that results from clinical trials must be reported on the EU clinical trials register (EUCTR) within 12 months of the end of the trial. The EU trials tracker reveals that only 51% of trials on the EUCTR are currently complying with this requirement. Despite almost half of trials being non-compliant, no one has yet been sanctioned for breaking this rule.

The AllTrials initiative calls on governments, regulators and research bodies to implement changes to ensure that past and present clinical trials are registered, with the complete methods and results reported. Find out more about the story of the AllTrials campaign here. Speaking about the tracker’s findings, AllTrials co-founder Dr Ben Goldacre said “We hope that our data will help trial sponsors to move fast and get their houses in order. We have identified the individual non-compliant sponsors, and trials, in order to help them do so”. Data from an analysis of EUCTR compliance, led by Dr Goldacre, were published in the BMJ this month. Interestingly, this analysis shows that, to date, academic sponsors of clinical trials are lagging behind industry, with only 11% of academic trials having results reported.

Síle Lane, co-founder of AllTrials and campaigns director for Sense about Science, says “The new tracker shows us that some companies and universities are taking this issue seriously. But there’s a vast difference between the best and the worst. There’s no excuse for failing to report results.”

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Summary by Emma Wise, a PhD Biomedical Sciences student registered at Plymouth University. Contact Emma at emmawise@hotmail.com.

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