Given recent furor regarding clinical trials of pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) has unveiled a website that will post clinical trial results, according to TheWall Street Journal. Given Merck's (NYSE:MRK) recent Vioxx entanglement, such a move is obviously meant to put investors, physicians, and consumers at ease.
Merck, of course, has suffered greatly over the troubles surrounding arthritis drug Vioxx. This even included recent word that the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are both conducting investigations into the situation, including shareholder disclosure practices.
It's hardly shocking that pharmaceutical companies would begin to make such moves as this. Vioxx may have been the final catalyst, but there has also been a lot of talk over recent months about antidepressant data as well. (Lilly itself had some unpleasant media attention in the spring over the possibility of a link between its newest antidepressant Cymbalta and teen suicide in clinical trials, while antidepressants in general have experienced similar scrutiny.)
WSJ reported that other pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) are taking similar steps, although Lilly is at the most advanced stage as of yet. Lilly's site is available at http://www.lillytrials.com/ and includes trial data by disorder and medication, as well as recruiting trials and ongoing studies. It also includes a glossary of terminology for those of us who aren't expert in medical terms.
With regulatory agencies taking a closer look at the ways in which pharmaceutical companies disclose clinical trial results, it bodes well for corporations to take steps to fix problems before regulatory intervention is deemed necessary. Meanwhile, this is a step toward generating trust -- after all, shareholders, physicians, and consumers alike are likely looking askew at Big Pharma these days.
Merck was a Motley Fool Income Investor pick prior to the Vioxx troubles. In Merck's Silver Lining , Income Investor'schief analyst, Mathew Emmert, describes what kind of shareholders should consider holding shares of Merck, given the recent developments.
Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.
