4 May 2023
Under United States and European Union laws, sponsors who do not make certain clinical trial results public risk fines and, in extreme cases, prison. The UK plans to introduce a law allowing the drug regulator to withhold approval for new trials if old trial results are not made public. Meanwhile, research funders across the world are
increasingly starting to monitor trial reporting and are considering introducing sanctions. But are such sanctions really a good idea? In this lively debate, four experts agree that transparency is important - but strongly disagree on whether sanctions are the best way forward.