Indian Council of Medical Research Director-General N. K. Ganguly on Friday launched “The Clinical Trials Registry-India” (CTRI) where all clinical trials conducted in India would be registered.
Indian Council of Medical Research Director-General N. K. Ganguly on Friday launched “The Clinical Trials Registry-India” (CTRI) where all clinical trials conducted in India would be registered. These trials are conducted to test efficacy of new drugs.
The national registry will make the trails more transparent. It is the first such initiative in Asia.Any researcher who plans to conduct drug trials on humans is expected to declare the details of the exercise in the Registry that is jointly funded by the Department of Science and Technology, WHO and ICMR. The registry will require 20 items to be declared at the time of registration. These items meet the requirements of the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.
"With the launch of this registry, India will be among the few select countries like Australia, UK and the US that are making researchers accountable through public disclosure," N K Ganguly, ICMR Director-General said. “There has been a slow but steady rise in clinical trials being conducted in India, making our country a preferred clinical trial hub,” said Prof. Ganguly, adding, “However, as a series of incidences of unfortunate events associate with clinical trials came to light, there has been a growing call for transparency, accountability and accessibility of clinical trials and their results in order to re-establish public trust in clinical trial data. With the launch of this Registry, India will be among the few select countries including Australia, United Kingdom and the United States that are making researchers accountable through public disclosure.”
"The CTRI will ensure that a complete view of ongoing research is available at the click of a mouse," Ganguly said. The objective is to restore public confidence in clinical research, which was being coed in some parts of the country in a hush-hush manner.
“While registration is voluntary, in some fields it is mandatory to register and we hope that the registry will serve as a primary register for the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and register all trials in India. The CTRI will be searchable by anyone free of charge,” added Prof. Ganguly.
Source-Medindia
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