COVID-19 lesson: New FDA chief, when chosen, must crack down on clinical trial transparency

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in instilling trust in authorized and approved therapies and vaccines. Recent, repeated missteps from AstraZeneca surrounding its characterization of COVID-19 vaccine trial results, as well as possible safety concerns, have led to a clamoring call for increased FDA scrutiny of and transparency around AstraZeneca’s clinical trial data. President Biden has yet to nominate a new FDA commissioner to take the helm of this critical agency. Whoever steps into this role should commit to enforcing clinical trial transparency. Doing so is simple, requires no congressional action and will meaningfully protect patients.