Public Registration of Clinical Trials

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Abstract
For many years, the registration in a public data bank of all clinical trials — from start to completion and reporting of results — has seemed a quixotic quest of some academic researchers, medical-journal editors, and librarians. Within the past two months, however, a constellation of events and developments has broadened this effort and captured the attention of the medical profession, the news media, and government officials. The events include a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for concealing negative information about the antidepressant medication paroxetine and the endorsement of a comprehensive registry by the American Medical Association (AMA).1 Other developments include the possibility of federal legislation and a potential requirement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for trials to be registered at inception as a condition for later consideration for publication.

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