Pfizer starts to unlock the data vault on drug studies

With pressure growing on Big Pharmas to be more transparent with their drug data, Pfizer ($PFE) says it plans to start unlocking the data vaults, with special plans to allow easy access for patients in studies to check out their personal info. "Qualified" investigators will be given access to anonymized data for studies 24 months after completion, with a pioneering electronic portal for study participants to look at their own results. A number of critics have been prodding the industry to open up, and some may not be happy with the company's approach to qualifying which researchers can gain access to the data vault. But increasingly companies are being forced to open up or face scathing criticism. A number of studies indicate that a large number of studies never see the light of day. Release