New European online clinical trials register is launched

Health professionals and the wider public will soon have access to information on every clinical trial taking place in 30 European countries. The online system, which is being managed by the London based European Medicines Agency, was launched on 22 March.

The new EU clinical trials register already contains details of 3452 trials, of which 763 involve participants under 18 years of age. The European Commission expects it to eventually hold data on around 10 000 ongoing trials on the basis that each lasts two to three years and some 4000 trials are authorised each …