Johnson & Johnson Will Share Clinical Trial Data - Forbes

In a major victory for advocates of open access to data from clinical trials, Johnson & Johnson today announced that it will make all of its clinical trial data available to outside researchers. The company said that the Yale University Open Data Access (YODA) Project will serve as an independent third party “to review requests from investigators and physicians seeking access to anonymized clinical trials data.”

The company said that this program “is the first time any company has collaborated with a completely independent third party to review and make decisions regarding every request for clinical data.” Last year Glaxo SmithKline and Pfizer announced that they would share  clinical trial data, but the full extent of their commitment is still unclear and they have not arranged for an independent third party to review requests for data. Through its arrangement with YODA J&J appears to have made a more substantial commitment to sharing its data. Other pharmaceutical and device companies will now undoubtedly face increased pressure to share their data as well.