Omnibus Spending Bill Provision Would Require Public Disclosure Of NIH-Funded Biomedical Research Results

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry;  Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 24 Dec 2007 - 6:00 PDT

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A provision in the omnibus budget package approved by Congress this week would require NIH to make the results of all studies funded by the agency available to the public at no cost, the Washington Post reports.

Under the provision, researchers who receive grants from NIH would have to submit a final copy of studies accepted for publication in a scientific journal. NIH would post the results of the studies in a database available to the public at no cost within 12 months after publication.

John Burklow, NIH communications director, said that implementation of the provision could take six months. He added, "Our main goal right now is to make sure everyone understands the policy and knows how to follow it."

According to the Post, patient advocacy groups and other supporters of the provision maintain that "taxpayers, who have already paid for the research, should not have to subscribe to expensive scientific journals to read about results." However, publishers of scientific journals raise concerns that they would lose paid subscriptions, "which would undermine their ability to sponsor educational activities and peer reviews," and that the provision could violate copyright law, the Post reports. Some publishers on Thursday indicated that they might challenge the legality of the provision in court (Weiss, Washington Post, 12/21).

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