Does that mean it is impossible for anybody, with the exception...

Does that mean it is impossible for anybody, with the exception of federal entities, to get access to detailed transaction data? This would imply that "Insider Trading" or related activities are a quite safe form of operation with only a small or miniscule risk of detection.

Anyway, I spoke with a Bloomberg rep (US-based) and it does seem, so they claim, that the information I am looking for is available (which is not really surprising since ASIC can get at it too; see figaroo's post above http://hotcopper.com.au/posts/15101957/single).
Yes, from Bloomberg for a price, of course - US$ 2100/month or so for a subscription. But that is negotiable, believe me - one-time access for the purpose of retrieving a single dataset should be considerable cheaper. As you are surely aware, R&D projects don't have to be of Biomedical nature. I am quite sure that UNSW and ANU have terminal access, and most likely a few more of the Universities, and don't forget some of the large brokers.