Cleaning up clinical trials
Campaigns to enforce complete and correct reporting of trial data are beginning to take hold
Publication bias is a real problem in clinical trials. The temptation to publish only favourable results is understandable. Academic researchers may worry that advertising trial failures could impact their future ability to get grants; industrial companies may be concerned about where the payback for their investment is going to come from. And scientists can get attached to pet projects and want to continue, despite trials showing that the drug is unlikely to work.
Campaigns to ensure trial results are reported on time, and results are not tweaked to show more positive outcomes, have been gaining momentum in recent years and are now beginning to make a difference to the way trials are run and reported.