IFPMA to Launch Centralized Search Tool for Trial Registries

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) is launching an internet search portal this fall that will provide a centralized location to access clinical trial registries and databases worldwide.

The search engine, which will be developed by IBM for a September launch, is part of the pharmaceutical industry's ongoing efforts to increase the transparency of clinical trials, said IFPMA, whose membership organizations include PhRMA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, and the Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association.

"Disclosure of clinical trial information can provide an important benefit to physicians and to their patients and families when evaluating the latest biomedical research information and details about clinical trials currently underway that might help alleviate their suffering," IFPMA President Daniel Vasella said. "The internet portal will ensure that we help those in need and the medical community rapidly and easily find the data that can help facilitate medical decisions about therapies and future potential treatments."

IFPMA announced in January that its members would voluntarily disclose summary results of all industry-sponsored clinical trials. The trial data will be published in a standard, nonpromotional summary that will include a description of trial design and methodology, results of primary and secondary outcome measures described in the protocol, and safety results. Currently, U.S. drug firms are only required to publish the results of studies investigating life-threatening diseases.

PhRMA members will post results from all hypothesis-testing clinical trials on the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) website, http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov (http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov). PhRMA also has launched its own clinical trials registry at http://www.ClinicalStudyResults.org (http://www.ClinicalStudyResults.org). IFPMA's portal will connect to both the NLM site and PhRMA's registry, as well as other industry- and government-sponsored trial registries, such as those launched by drugmakers Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline and Roche.