Let me preface: this is just me playing devil’s advocate. To be fair. To give a different perspective.
There is an exorbitant amount of conversation going on about the sharing and publication of all clinical trial data, good or bad. The reason? To help others out. To advance science. To save lives.
But why should a sponsor, a for-profit pharma, biotech, or medical device company, who spends their own funds might I add, be forced to share proprietary information? Information that can potentially give them an edge over competition? Do they really owe anyone this information? After all, they’ve already compensated the necessary parties for their research.
I get it. If they want to be kind-hearted, they can share their knowledge.
But, then again, do companies in other industries share their R&D knowledge? Does Nike share which soles performed better in tests? Does Starbucks share what flavors they find consumers like or dislike? Does Tesla share their secrets to success or research that didn’t lead to production?
While public health is not the same as common goods or luxury items, just think about it for a second: Is it fair to hold life sciences companies to a different standard?
