The European Court of Justice has confirmed the European Medicines Agency’s approach to disclosure of data submitted as part of a marketing authorization application. It is a big disappointment for industry, which nonetheless says it supports responsible data sharing and will support efforts to develop a balanced approach.

The European Medicines Agency may be forced to re-examine whether clinical trial data should be regarded as presumptively confidential under its access to documents policy.

In the second segment of a two-part article on transparency provisions for the new EU clinical trial portal, a senior Merck executive explains how the company will ensure that commercially sensitive information and personal data in its clinical trial applications are not made public.