EU Trial Registry: Only 42% of Results Fully Reported
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- An analysis of a key European clinical trial database found that results for less than half of registered studies were reported within the required time frame.
- Complete results were fully reported for only 42% of the trials expected to disclose findings, according to the researchers.
- Registration data quality was high overall — more than 99% of expected data was found in the 234 clinical trials that were supposed to have disclosed results.
- The researchers contended that overall compliance with legal reporting requirements was weak and that regulatory oversight is lacking.
- EU and member state regulators "have so far not delivered the promised 'high levels of transparency never seen before for clinical trials,'" the authors wrote in their analysis.
- The analysis was posted on the medRxiv preprint server and has not yet been peer reviewed.
Why it matters: With fewer than half of EU-registered studies meeting reporting deadlines and only 42% providing complete results, the European Medicines Agency's transparency framework falls short of its own stated promises — leaving significant portions of clinical trial data undisclosed to patients, clinicians, and researchers who depend on it.
