In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution designed to improve the quality of clinical trials by encouraging the timely publication of complete study results and diversifying the pool of participants, among other things.
The move comes amid increased concerns about meeting global health needs in the wake of the pandemic, which spurred a surge of clinical trials, although some did not include enough participants. The effort was initiated several weeks ago in order to generate enough reliable data to inform health policies and medical practices, although some patient advocates say the final document fell short.
The resolution is billed as a way to promote “high-quality evidence” that can help develop medical products to provide routine care, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. Notably, these would be for any global health priority, not just another pandemic. The steps include coordinating research, designing well-powered trials, and creating mechanisms to register trials and report results.
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