Data Sharing

Committed to sharing clinical study data

The application process

The MRC CTU at UCL is committed to sharing clinical study data for additional, ethical research with justified scientific objectives.

We have a controlled access approach whereby researchers make formal applications for data sharing. The trial team and independent reviewers then review the application. More information about the rationale for this approach is available in an article published in Trials journal.

Read more about the application process

Guidelines for data sharing

Strong scientific rationale

There must be a strong scientific argument or other legitimate rationale for the data to be used for the requested purpose.

No data can be released if this would compromise an ongoing trial

No data can be released if this would compromise an ongoing trial. Investigators who have invested time and effort into developing a trial should have a period of exclusivity, before key trial data are made available to other researchers.

Resources for data processing should not be underestimated

The resources required to process requests should not be under-estimated, particularly those needed to prepare data for release. Adequate resources must be available and the scientific aims of the study must justify the use of such resources.

Complying with Information Governance and Data Protection

All data exchange must comply with Information Governance and Data Protection Policies in all countries relevant to the disclosure.

All our trials are 'discoverable'

All Unit trials must be "discoverable"; they are formally entered on recognised clinical trials registers, such as clinicaltrials.gov and the ISRCTN registry, and listed on the Unit's website. Eligibility criteria for each study and a list of information collected in it are available (sometimes only on request). Timelines to indicate when data might be made available may also be posted, subject to any necessary updating.