International pharmaceutical group launches drug trials directory

GENEVA — A clinical trial database encompassing studies from around the world has been compiled and launched as a Web site, according to a pharmaceutical industry group.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) Clinical Trial Portal contains more than 250,000 links, the organization said in a press release.

“Today, IFPMA is launching the first international web portal, to provide doctors, patients and their families with simple access to the most complete information on clinical trials of drugs and vaccines,” said Dan Vasella, president of IFPMA, in the press release. “The launch of this portal shows the pharmaceutical industry’s commitment to full transparency in the interest of patients and healthcare professionals.”

The portal’s search engine has been programmed to access “relevant online sources of clinical trial information,” the release said. These sources include individual pharmaceutical company sites, sites run by third parties working on behalf of these companies, and industry association and government sites.

The site will offer two ways of searching: through a listing of ongoing clinical trials or through results of completed trials. The IFPMA release said this is only the first stage of the site.

“The ultimate effectiveness of the portal will require further investment to increase its ease of use,” the release said.

According to news reports, phase 1 studies in healthy volunteers will be exempt from the listing, and no company is required to reveal the results of any drug before that drug is approved. Pharmaceutical companies have been announcing their own plans to create Web sites dedicated to informing the public about ongoing trials, mostly as an effort to ward off government interference in how the information is presented. Scandals in the past year over COX-2 inhibitors and antidepressants have led regulatory agencies to push for more clinical trial disclosure from the manufacturers.

A joint release from the IFMPA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations acknowledged the global partnership among the groups and stated their commitment to providing the public with the results of all clinical trials conducted “on a drug that is approved for marketing and is commercially available.”