open model however the cost of drug development is so great that a commercial entity will have to be involved at some stage and secrecy will have to come into that currently nine pharma companies are a part of sgc the cost of clinical trials is billions of dollars and so it seems unlikely that it can ever be pulled away from commercial interests and the inevitable risks that come with that we would prefer that independently funded academics do those clinical trials but we dont know if we are close to that happening but academics being involved can ensure that the due process of clinical trials is adhered to