Scientific data from clinical trials:: Investigators' responsibilities and rights

In view of the increasing reports of restrictions placed on the publication of scientific data from industry-sponsored clinical trials, the subscribing group of editors of surgical journals adopted a policy for publication ethics. This policy will be included in the next publication of the 'Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals'. We strongly believe that scientific work should be governed by the principle of autonomy, i.e. the responsibility for scientific data from clinical trials and their use should be in the hands of the investigators. Only in this way can we ensure that research remains true to its ultimate goal: The advancement of science. We hope to create an awareness of the problem at hand so that scientists as well as trial sponsors will join their efforts to avoid restrictions in the future.