> I am familiar with this problem in pharmaceutical industry's
> research-- leaving out the trials that will not promote the drug.
>
> But I was under the impression that when someone files for a patent
> on something, they are obligated to publish all their research.
> Somewhere i had read that the biotech companies like Monsanto had to
> make public all their research when they applied for a patent, or
> maybe it was when they are awarded the patent.
>
> does anyone know if that is true?
IANAL. Patents are normally filed far in advance of clinical trials and/or regulatory approvals. (one of the excuses for extending patents from 17 to 20 years was the lengthy regulatory approval process). A patent on a drug must only disclose those procedures which are necessary for someone to make the drug, not every piece of knowledge of that drug the patent applicant possesses.
What is quite wrong though is that pharmas don't have to disclose to the public all the studies they must disclose to the FDA. IMO, all studies in support of an application for FDA approval should be publicly available.