GlaxoSmithKline Set to Disclose More Drug Trial Data.

Byline: Christopher Rowland

Jun. 19--The drug industry's resistance to disclosing negative clinical trial results is beginning to crack.

Yesterday, GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's largest drug makers, said it would begin providing more information on its trials. Two other pharmaceutical manufacturers, Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson, also said they would support a federal government registry for clinical trials.

The moves follow weeks of controversy over what information drug companies disclose to the public about negative clinical trial results. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit this month that accuses GlaxoSmithKline of deliberately suppressing negative trial results for its antidepressant drug Paxil when it was tested in teenagers.

Earlier this week, the American Medical Association and the publishers of prestigious medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine called for a government drug trial registry to provide greater disclosure so doctors and patients can better understand drug risks. The publishers are even considering a plan to only print studies that are listed in a major registry.