RxTrials Institute Drug Pipeline Alert

Lilly Discloses All Clinical Trials, Really. Except… (Pharmalot)
In his blog, Ed Silverman discusses a recent speech by Eli Lilly CEO Sid Taurel in which Taurel emphasized how his company releases its clinical trial results. Transparency has become “a hot-button issue given that the industry has been accused of failing to release unfavorable data,” Silverman writes.

He quotes Taurel, “‘Three years ago, Lilly became the first pharmaceutical company to publicly disclose the results of all … of our clinical trials — on the Internet. Far from harming our business in some way, I’m convinced that the increased transparency helped to improve our partnerships with researchers and to boost the confidence of doctors and patients who use our products.’”

Eli Lilly has posted many trial results on its site, but Silverman notes one exception: Cialis. The Cialis website claims the erectile dysfunction drug was proven safe and effective in 22 trials. However, the Eli Lilly trial registry mentions only two Cialis studies. An Eli Lilly spokesman said the company would not publish early safety and efficacy results, given the company did not have rights to the drug when it was approved, Silverman adds.