A group of Democratic senators has introduced a bill that would require drug makers and medical device manufacturers to register clinical trials of their products in a public database at their onset and report subsequent test results. The legislation would require registration before clinical trials involving patients could be conducted.
Several drug companies have already indicated they will start posting trial results on company Web sites, a perceived reaction to mounting pressure from medical editors who say they will not publish papers on clinical trial results unless they have been publicly accessible since trial outset. The American Medical Association also has passed a resolution calling for a similar national database.
It is unlikely that action on the bill would be taken until after the presidential election. Sponsors of the bill included Senators Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Ron Wyden of Oregon.