The world's four main pharmaceutical trade groups have announced that they will begin to publish more data about ongoing clinical trials. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, along with it’s counter parts in Europe, Japan and other developing countries will begin publishing the data sometime around summer 2005. Currently, American companies are required by law to publish information about clinical trials pertaining to life-threatening diseases. The move comes after the medical community has complained about pharmaceutical companies selectively publishing only those results that have positive results for their products.

The move to publish more data and become more transparent could be a double-edged sword for pharmaceutical companies. While giving the public and medical community more data about ongoing trials may help them in the public relations aspect, having too much information too soon is not always a good thing. Especially when it relates to large, complex clinical trials. A recent example of this would be the large scale clinical trial which being done on naproxen, the generic name for Aleve. The study was halted early due to some early information about a possibility of increased heart problems. Researchers at the NIH (National Institutes of Health) have stated that the data needs to be further analyzed before making any conclusions. One thing that people need to realize is that every drug currently manufactured carries some risk when being taken, especially if taken continuously over a long period of time. Aspirin, a drug that has been around since long before companies started performing clinical trails attributes to thousands of deaths a year because it causes internal bleeding, yet there is no public outcry to remove it from the market.

The thing to keep in mind is every drug carries some risk. Each person should consult their doctor about whether or not a particular drug is right for them. The positive effect needs to be weighed against the possible side effects.