EU register of clinical trials now on open access online

The EU Clinical Trials Register was launched today (22 March) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), giving the public access to information on trials authorised in the 27 EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, for the first time.

The information in the EU Clinical Trials Register, extracted from EudraCT the EU clinical trials database, is provided by the sponsor of the clinical trial. Trials will be listed on the register as soon as they are approved.

Lise Murphy, co-chair of the EMA’s working party with patients’ and consumers’ Organisations welcomed the launch of the register, saying, “It increases transparency of medical research and will make it much easier for patients to find information about clinical trials taking place in Europe.

The said it will continue work to improve register, in particular by enhancing the quality and completeness of data, and improving the search functionality. Plans for the future include the publication of summaries of clinical trial results, on which draft guidance has already been published for consultation by the European Commission. This will require a major upgrade to the existing system, for which the budget is yet to be agreed.

The European Commission said the register will make data more transparent and avoid unnecessary duplication of clinical trials. Every year approximately 4,000 clinical trials are authorised in the EU. Since most of them last 2 to 3 years, this means that around 10 000 trials are ongoing at any given time.

John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, said, “The register launched today is good news for patients as it will allow them to get easier information about clinical trials going on in the EU, possibly giving access to important new treatment. It is also of great interest to healthcare professionals and carers, the research community and industry.”