Washington, D.C., December 10, 2004 - The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) strongly supports the elimination of restrictive confidentiality clauses in clinical trial contracts between pharmaceutical companies and academic or physician researchers. Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., the AAMC's president, said today:

"Collaborations between academic researchers and the pharmaceutical industry are essential to advancing the health care of our nation. But negotiating the contracts that govern these partnerships is often a challenging and contentious exercise.

Universally accepted contract language that would protect the participants in clinical trials and ensure that researchers are not inappropriately prevented from communicating all the scientific results would help preserve the public's trust in the integrity of research trials. The AAMC supports the American Medical Association's resolution to move toward this important goal. We urge the pharmaceutical industry to join us in developing new contract guidelines that would serve all stakeholders in the research process - particularly patients who are the ultimate beneficiaries."

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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