GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), the drug maker that agreed to plead guilty to failing to report safety data on what was once its best-selling medicine, will start sharing information from studies with researchers outside the company.

Results of all clinical trials of Glaxo’s medicines will be submitted for publication in medical journals, whether they are positive or negative, the London-based company said in an e- mailed statement today. The drug maker already posts summary results of all clinical trials on a publicly accessible website. The company has already posted about 4,500 summaries.

“As a truly global healthcare company, I believe we have a responsibility to do all we can at GSK to use our resources, knowledge and expertise to help tackle serious global health challenges,” GSK Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty said in a statement.

“However, the complexity of the science and the scale of the challenge mean that we cannot solve these problems alone. We need to take a different approach – one focused on partnership, collaboration and openness. By being more open with our clinical trial data, we also hope to help further scientific understanding. I am pleased with the progress we have made so far to evolve our business model but we recognise there is more we can do and the new initiatives outlined today will enable us to build on this work.”

Glaxo agreed this year to pay $3 billion to resolve U.S. criminal and civil allegations related to drug promotion and data disclosure. The U.S. claimed that Glaxo failed to provide certain safety data to regulators about Avandia, a diabetes drug, from 2001 to 2007. Since 2007, the FDA has added two black-box warnings to the Avandia label to alert doctors about the potential risk of congestive heart failure and heart attack. Avandia was once the world’s best-selling diabetes medicine, with $3 billion in annual sales.

“This initiative is a step towards the ultimate aim of the clinical research community developing a broader system where researchers will be able to access data from clinical trials conducted by different sponsors,” the company said. “GSK hopes the experience gained through this initiative will be of value in developing and catalyzing this wider approach.”

GSK also said it “will double its funding for its ‘Open Lab’” in Spain with an additional $8 million.

The lab was launched in 2010 through which independent researchers can gain access to GSK resources.

Tuberculosis Treatments

Researchers will be able to request the anonymous patient- specific data behind the trial results, Glaxo said. An independent panel will review the requests for scientific merit, and disclosure will be made through a secure website, the company said.

Glaxo also plans new measures to help develop faster-acting treatments for tuberculosis, the company said.

The European Medicines Agency in 2010 began disclosing clinical trial data on request for every drug it has reviewed, after pressure from drug-safety activists because of suicide risks linked to Sanofi’s failed diet pill Acomplia.

GSK operates its U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

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