Secondary use and scholarly impact of a portfolio of clinical trials with shared individual participant level data: cross sectional study.

Most clinical trials with shared individual participant data (IPD) produced secondary publications, with external investigators contributing nearly 18% of these, increasing over time.

• Why it matters: Understanding how shared trial data is used can improve data sharing practices and maximize scientific impact, addressing gaps in secondary research utilization.
• What they did: The study analyzed 336 Johnson & Johnson trials on the YODA platform, identifying 1167 secondary publications through citation searches up to June 2025, focusing on their characteristics and impact.
• The result: External publications often involved advanced analyses, had higher-impact journals and attention scores, but fewer citations and less influence on guidelines, highlighting the value and limitations of secondary data use.