Seven of the world’s biggest drugmakers tied for the top spot in Bioethics International’s Good Pharma Scorecard for 2021. The scorecard biannually ranks pharma companies on their clinical trial transparency and data-sharing practices.

The analysis looked at novel drugs and biologics that received FDA approval in 2016 and 2017. AbbVie, Amgen, Bayer, Merck KGaA/EMD Serono, Novartis and Roche/Genentech all earned perfect scores across the board. Takeda Pharmaceutical also received a perfect score, though it was classified as a “nonlarge” company in terms of size.

Other large companies followed; Merck, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Shire, Biogen, Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly ranked 91 percent or higher in their overall scores.

The recently released 2021 scorecard graded 42 companies and their products on the timeliness of clinical trial registration and where and how quickly trial results were reported. The scorecard also looked at patient-level data-sharing, using three different defined trial sample groups. Using those measures and additionally examining associations between company size, location and type of sponsored product (novel drugs or biologics), the firms received scores and rankings.

Going down the remaining list of 28 firms, the scores began dropping considerably. Pfizer and AstraZeneca, for example, both received scores of 84 percent, while Celgene earned 80 percent on the dot. The rest of the companies were all classified as nonlarge and showed widely varying degrees of transparency.

Radius, Ferrer, Portola and Puma Technology, for instance, obtained scores in the 70s, with Radius the highest at 77 percent. Lexicon, Shionogi, Neurocrine Biosciences and Valeant ranked lower, obtaining scores in the 60s.

The remaining firms had scores in the 50s or below, with the lowest scores being given to BioMarin and Synergy (both 13 percent) and PTC Therapeutics (11 percent).

“We found substantial room for improvement particularly among nonlarge companies. Disseminating results and sharing patient-level data in research is critical for gaining the full and essential benefits of clinical research, honoring research participants and fostering trust in medical research, medicines, vaccines and care,” the researchers concluded. “The trajectory over time is promising, but the arc must bend further toward transparency to fully realize the potential benefits of and trust in clinical research.”

Access the Good Pharma Scorecard here: https://bit.ly/3AbF2UX.