Developing more open and equitable relationships with industry to improve advancements in clinical research in dermatology.

Relationships between physicians, scientists, and the pharmaceutical industry can be complicated by conflicts of interest. Honest and equitable relationships, however, are essential to the advancement of dermatologic clinical research. Several factors can increase transparency in clinical trials including preregistration of clinical trials, reporting of all data produced from clinical trials, non-industry ownership of clinical trial data, clarity of statistical methods and publication of both positive and negative results. Through collaborative, scientifically rigorous studies, physicians and industry can achieve significant advances in dermatologic care.