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Call for Open Pharma Access

November 21, 2012

Cory Doctorow argues at The Guardian that all, not just publicly funded, pharmaceutical research should be made open access. Many people, he says, agree that all publicly funded research should be available to the public — the main argument being that since the public funded it, they should be able to see the result. But Doctorow goes a step further.

He writes references a book by Ben Goldacre, called Bad Pharma, in which Goldacre notes that about half of pharmaceutical research is never published, likely due to results showing that the drug under study doesn't work. "The reason pharma companies should be required to publish their results isn't that they've received a public subsidy for the research. Rather, it is because they are asking for a governmental certification saying that their products are fit for consumption, and they are asking for regulatory space to allow doctors to write prescriptions for those products," Doctorow writes. "We need them to disclose their research – even if doing so undermines their profits – because without that research, we can't know if their products are fit for use."


Ben Goldacre is correct that

Submitted by adepristo_1 on Wed, 11/21/2012 - 15:29.

Ben Goldacre is correct that a lot of pharmaceutical research does not get published. But, why single out the pharma industry as that happens in academia, government and industry. Shouldn't all auto manufacturers publish the results of crash tests and handling tests? Shouldn't all professors publish the results of experiments that fail? Shouldn't steel manufacturers publish the results of experiments on the hardening of steel? Isn't all of this data important since it will enable us to determine whether the products are fit for use? The argument is really absurd but does sell books.

BTW, who will evaluate all the data? Will it be the government which has demonstrated unequivocal excellent and competence in protecting us from all harm?