Astellas releases clinical trial data on public-access website

Astellas Pharma said on Monday that its clinical trial data is now accessible through ClinicalStudyDataRequest.com, an independent website that lets users access data after research proposals are approved by a review panel.

Astellas will provide the website with anonymous patient data from clinical trials for U.S.- and European Union-approved product research finished after January 2010. A list of the first available Astellas studies will be posted on the website. Before site users can access clinical trial data, they must be accepted by an independent panel. Astellas does not play a part in decisions made by the panel of reviewers.

To assist the move toward data disclosure, Astellas recently modified its Global Policy on Clinical Trial Data Disclosure. The policy explains the company’s values about clinical trial registration, posting and publishing of trial results, and scientists’ access to data.
"Transparency in the conduct of clinical trials is an important issue for the scientific and medical community today," Astellas Chief Medical Officer Sef Kurstjens said. "By making our clinical trial data more widely available, we further its potential to increase understanding of disease and, ultimately, to address the unmet needs of patients."