Just 3% of more than 3,700 studies run exclusively in Canada over a recent 10-year period were registered prospectively, reported results, and published the findings, underscoring ongoing concerns about clinical trial transparency, according to a new analysis.
More specifically, 47% of those trials, or more than 1,770, were registered in advance, while only 12% reported results in a registry, and only 48% published their findings. The analysis, which examined trials that were completed between 2009 and 2019, were published in Facets, a medical journal that examines research conducted in Canada and internationally (university and industry performances can be seen here).
The study also found disclosure was much higher when looking at trials simultaneously conducted in Canada and at least one other country. Of more than 2,900 such trials, 74% were registered in advance, 75% reported results in a registry, and 65% published the results. In all, 42% took all three of those steps concurrently. Overall, the analysis found the odds of adhering to transparency standards in Canada drop by 95% when compared with international trials.
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