The Guardian: Why open access to medical research matters

rebecca
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 09:51:13 +0000
Open and replicable science

“In other words, hiding research papers behind a subscription paywall – as is the case for an estimated two-thirds of all research – could be killing people. There are countless examples of how failure to share science openly can have a devastating impact on public health.”

"In December 2002, a Belfast teenager made world headlines after his father, Don Simms, won him the legal right to access an experimental drug. Jonathan Simms had been diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a cruel and fatal neurodegenerative condition that gives sufferers an average of one year to live.

After receiving the drug pentosan polysulfate, Jonathan lived for another 10 years, defying all medical expectations. The court ruling made medical history: until that point the drug had only ever been tested on animals, and the legal decision opened doors to treatment for other patients.

Key to Don Simms’s success in the courts was that he had been able to access the latest medical research findings on his son’s disease online, which was how he heard about the new drug."

the Guardian – 22 Jan 20

Coronavirus and Ebola: could open access medical research find a cure?

Campaigners have argued for open access to scientific research since the dawn of the internet – so why is it taking so long?

HT: @jon_tennant

5 posts - 3 participants