An analysis of the clinical development of drugs in Norway for the year 2000: the completion of research and publication of results.
OBJECTIVE
In Norway, very little data are available on the relation between the total number of research projects on the clinical development of drugs that have been started, the number of these projects in which the research phase has been completed and the number of projects for which results have been published. The aim of this study was to determine the number of projects in which the research phase had been completed and the results published.


METHODS
Information on research projects carried out on the clinical development of drugs during the year 2000 was obtained from the archives of the Norwegian Research Ethical Committee (REC) and subsequently analysed.


RESULTS
The final analysis revealed that 245 research projects on the clinical development of drugs had been started in 2000. Of these, 178 (73%) completed the research phase as planned. The results of 131 (54%) of these projects were published in a scientific journal, and another 34 (14%) were reported as a congress abstract or as report to a sponsor; 80 (33%) were not published at all. Industrial sponsors seemed to promote both the completion of the research process and the publication of results in scientific journals.
Hole
Ola P
OP
Faculty Division Rikshospitalet, University of Oslo, 0027 Oslo, Norway.
Nitter-Hauge
Sigurd
S
Cederkvist
Henrik R
HR
Winther
Finn O
FO
D000047:Academies and Institutes / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics* / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics* / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D028744:Ethics Committees, Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards; D016304:Hospitals, Private / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000941:ethics; D009664:Norway; D011643:Publishing / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012109:Research Support as Topic / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors