GlaxoSmithKline outlines clinical trial data transparency plans

GlaxoSmithKline has provided an update on its broad-ranging plans to share detailed clinical trial data, as part of efforts to improve its operational transparency.

A new online system is being launched that will enable researchers to request access to patient-level data from GlaxoSmithKline clinical trials, thus helping to support scientific understanding and improve patient care.

External independent experts are being appointed to make up a panel that will review research proposals for access to anonymised patient-level data, while a password system will be used to ensure that information can only be accessed for scientific reasons.

It is hoped that this will form the basis of a broader system offering data from clinical trials conducted by multiple organisations, operated by an independent third party.

Patrick Vallance, GlaxoSmithKline's president of pharmaceutical research and development, said: "We are absolutely committed to sharing data so that researchers can examine the details more closely, do their own analyses and learn more about medicines and how they can best be used."

This comes after the firm announced its support for the AllTrials clinical data transparency initiative earlier this year.