The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine | 14 Jan 2015
Although clinical trials generate vast amounts of data, a large portion is never published or made available to other researchers. Data sharing could advance scientific discovery and improve clinical care by maximizing the knowledge gained from data collected in trials, stimulating new ideas for research, and avoiding unnecessarily duplicative trials. In response to 23 public- and private-sector sponsors in the United States and abroad, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) assembled a committee to develop guiding principles and a practical framework for the responsible sharing of clinical trial data. In its report, Sharing Clinical Trial Data: Maximizing Benefits, Minimizing Risk, the committee concludes that sharing data is in the public interest, but a multi-stakeholder effort is needed to develop a culture, infrastructure, and policies that will foster responsible sharing—now and in the future.