New CIHR requirements for registration and public disclosure of results from clinical trials

On October 28, 2020, CIHR formally signed onto the WHO Joint Statement on Public Disclosure of Results from Clinical Trials (“WHO Joint Statement”), affirming CIHR’s commitment to advancing open science, research excellence, and greater transparency in clinical trials. To that end, CIHR has launched a Policy Guide outlining existing and new policy requirements for CIHR-funded clinical trials to meet and exceed our role as a signatory of the WHO Joint Statement.

In alignment with international best practices and in accordance with existing tri-agency policies, Nominated Principal Investigators receiving CIHR grant funds for clinical trial research on or after January 1, 2022 must comply with the following practices to remain eligible for any new CIHR funding:

Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly available, free-to-access, searchable clinical trial registry complying with the WHO's international agreed standards before the researcher meets with the first study participant.

CIHR-funded researchers are already doing this!

Public disclosure of results must be done within a mandated time frame:

  • Publications describing clinical trial results must be open access from the date of publication.
  • Summary results must be publicly available within 12 months from the last visit of the last participant (for collection of data on the primary outcome).

This new requirement applies to all trials funded on or after 1 Jan. 2022.

All study publications must include the registration number/Trial ID (to be specified in the article summary/abstract).

This new requirement applies to all trials funded on or after 1 Jan. 2022.

By introducing these new requirements for clinical trial reporting, CIHR is proud to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to advancing open science and research excellence. Timely disclosure of results reduces waste in research, increases value and efficiency in the use of funds and reduces reporting bias, which should lead to better decision making in health policy and practice.

Questions?

For more information, please refer to the Policy Guide.

If you have questions, please contact the CIHR Contact Centre.

Frequently Asked Questions

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