Academics often excluded from analysis of industry-funded trials

Academics named as co-authors on papers reporting industry-funded clinical trials were involved in the data analysis in less than half of them, a study has found.

Academics were involved in the data analysis of just 79 of 200 (40 per cent) phase II and IV clinical trials of vaccines, drugs and devices with full industry funding and at least one academic co-author, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal on 3 October.

Industry funders were usually involved in every step of the trials, whereas the role of academic authors, funders and contract research organisations “varied greatly”, the study’s authors, led by Kristine Rasmussen of the Nordic Cochrane Centre, said.