​The publicly-accessible website - thought to be the first of its kind in the world set up by the pharmaceutical industry - starts service with clinical trial reports already in place from major pharmaceutical companies, with more expected to join shortly.

"The pharmaceutical industry in the UK has once again taken a world lead by providing this information on clinical trials," said Dr Trevor Jones, Director General of the ABPI. "It is proof positive of our commitment to greater openness and a greater flow of communication between ourselves, healthcare professionals and patients."

The launch of the website is the result of a policy announced some time ago by the ABPI under which member companies are encouraged to register voluntarily all clinical trials involving UK patients that have formed part of a licensing application. Participating companies will register the phase 3 trials within three months of receiving their first licence in a major market.

The website will provide a readily accessible list and information about which trials have been carried out and in which therapeutic areas. As well as healthcare professionals, the site will be of especial use to patient organisations and the public.

Phase 3 clinical trials are the last major stage of testing before a licence application is made to the regulatory authority, and are typically conducted in several thousand people suffering from the disease that the medicine is designed to treat. They are conducted primarily to gain information about the efficacy of the medicine, and its safety profile.

Among the information about the trials that will be included on the website are:

• Details of the company conducting the trial
• The design and methodology being used
• The topic, objectives and aim
• The planned and actual sample size
• The start and end date, plus any information about follow-up duration
• Whether the results of the trial have been published in a learned journal and, if so, its details
• Details of how to get further information about each trial

Major companies are already participating and more are close to joining, so this venture has got off to a good start," said Dr Jones. "Our aim now is to encourage more member companies to join - so that anyone can have access to the information about new medicines that have been approved for prescribing."

The website, which is hosted by CMR International, can be found at www.cmrinteract.com/clintrial

For further information, please contact: ABPI Press Office 020 7747 1410