7th Revision of the Declaration of Helsinki: Good News for the Transparency of Clinical Trials

In October 2008, the 59th World Medical Association (WMA) General Assembly in Seoul adopted the 7th revision of the Declaration of Helsinki: “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects.” This 2008 revision contains important new requirements related to the registration of clinical trials and reporting of their results. These provisions confirm the growing recognition that transparency is a crucial component of medical research that promotes the public interest. This article discusses briefly the background to these provisions, looks at the implications of the changes to the Declaration of Helsinki, and explores some of the remaining challenges.