Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) has launched an initiative to document clinical studies of drugs on the Internet. The first such drug is anti-cancer product irinotecan, branded Irnocam which the Hyderabad-based DRL launched early this week.

The drug is used to treat advanced colo-rectal cancer. The site has been hyperlinked to drreddys.com. The portal set up by DRL will facilitate fourteen top oncologists in the country to document and continuously update information on their patients using this drug.

The data they will put on the world wide web has been formatted as per the standards established for clinical trials conducted on such drugs. This includes patient information, side effects and dose modification, and response evaluation.

The data will only be available to doctors conducting the studies and that too on their patients only for the purpose of protecting patient confidentiality. The doctors will have their own password to log in. They will get only summary information on patients other than their own.

Using the Internet is also expected to make it easier for DRL to coordinate these studies as the doctors conducting them are spread out all over the country. To begin with the site is designed to suit cancer drug studies but could be easily modified for other drugs. The site may in future include trials of yet-to-be-launched drugs.