Glaxo releases drug trials on web

GlaxoSmithKline has announced plans to publish clinical trial results for some of its medicines on the internet.

GlaxoSmithKline has announced plans to publish clinical trial results for some of its medicines on the internet.The move comes as the drugs giant faces legal action in the US over allegations it withheld negative information about its antidepressant pill, Paxil. Glaxo said it would set up the GSK Clinical Trail Register, making it accessible to doctors and the public. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit against Europe’s biggest drugs firm earlier this month. ‘Major advance’ Mr Spitzer accused Glaxo of fraudulently suppressing information about Paxil, which is more usually known as Seroxat in the UK. Glaxo denied the claims but the company was prompted to publish data on its company website which showed the drug was broadly ineffective in young people and could increase risks of suicidal behaviour. Glaxo said it had previously released the results of tests on Paxil in medical journals and at scientific meetings. A spokesman for the firm said the new database had been under development for several months, and was not being set up in response to Mr Spitzer’s lawsuit. Tadataka Yamada, Glaxo’s chairman of Research & Development, said: “The GSK Clinical Trial Register will be a major advance in providing online access to information to support patient care, facilitating access to study summaries by putting them on a single Internet site.” Glaxo said it intended to launch the new database for a selection of its medicines in the near future.(Source: BBC News: June 2004)