GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it would create an electronic database to enable dissemination over the Internet of information about GSK-sponsored clinical trials.

The database, to be called the GSK Clinical Trial Register, will provide summaries of trial protocols and corresponding results for GSK-sponsored trials of marketed medicines. In addition, the register will provide references to publications that have appeared in the medical literature. The register will be accessible to physicians and the public, the company release says.

"The GSK Clinical Trial Register will be a major advance in providing on-line access to information to support patient care, facilitating access to study summaries by putting them on a single Internet site," said Dr Tadataka Yamada, chairman, Research & Development, GSK. "It is important to emphasize, however, that prescribing information approved by regulatory agencies must continue to guide appropriate use of our medicines," he added.

GSK will continue to communicate clinical data in journals, at scientific meetings, and in letters to healthcare professionals. The register has been under consideration and development for several months; its availability will be announced when it first appears on the GSK corporate Web site, the release said.