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Embargo Policy Exceptions

Certain laws may require disclosure of clinical trial data through federal and international registries within a specific amount of time following trial completion, or disclosure of clinical trial data by federal and international agencies for regulatory purposes related to drug safety and efficacy. Such disclosures will not be considered a violation of the AACR’s Embargo Policy, but the courtesy of advance notice to the AACR by email at [email protected] is requested.

Beyond the types of required disclosures outlined above, rare exceptions to the AACR’s Embargo Policy may be granted by the AACR for public health reasons or to meet other regulatory requirements. More information on requesting an exception is below.

Important Reminders

  • Requests for exceptions to the AACR’s Embargo Policy must be made at least 2 business days before any public release, following the guidelines below.
  • If an exception is granted, the AACR may still decide, following peer review, whether or not to accept an abstract. Once an abstract is accepted, the AACR reserves the right to place the abstract—or change its placement—in the scientific program and/or official press program as the AACR deems appropriate, depending on the information that has been released.
  • Please contact [email protected] with requests for exceptions or any questions.

SEC and Other Regulatory Exceptions

A publicly traded company may determine that, in order to comply with regulatory requirements, it is obligated to disclose data or other information from a confidential abstract before the AACR publishes the abstract online.

A company in this situation must request an exception to the AACR’s Embargo Policy. To do so, the company must submit a letter signed by the company’s legal counsel to [email protected], with a copy directed to the lead author of the abstract. This letter should include the abstract title, describe the format and timing of the disclosure, state that the company must disclose the information to comply with applicable securities laws, and confirm that the company will disclose the minimum amount of information needed for compliance.

Exception requests must be received by the AACR at least 2 business days before the requested public release, though it is strongly recommended that the company contact the AACR as soon as possible.

The AACR will review the request and confirm via email whether the abstract qualifies for an exception. If the AACR determines that an exception applies, the company may issue a press release or otherwise announce the information necessary for compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The AACR requests that any press release or other public disclosure:

  • indicate that the full data set will be presented at the applicable AACR meeting, if the abstract has already been accepted for presentation;
  • use qualitative descriptors to summarize study data rather than disclosing specific quantitative details;
  • avoid speculation or interpretation about the impact of the results; and
  • be shared with the AACR in advance of distribution.

Even if an exception is granted, the AACR reserves the right to accept or not accept an abstract following peer review. The AACR may also place the abstract in the meeting’s scientific program and/or official press program at its discretion. The abstract’s placement in the scientific program or inclusion in the official press program may be changed if the press release conveys significantly more information than what is outlined above, thereby decreasing the novelty of the information at the time of presentation.