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clinicaltrials.gov

www.clinicaltrials.gov

Clinicaltrials.gov is a service of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The site is being developed as a result of the FDA Modernization Act (FDAMA) of 1997, which requires the Department of Health and Human Services, through the NIH, to "establish a registry of clinical trials for both federally and privately funded trials of experimental treatments for serious and life-threatening diseases or conditions". Conveniently designed, the site can be searched for specific trials using one or several key words or browsed by either trial medical condition or sponsor. The information on each trial includes the purpose/rational, eligibility, status (e.g. recruiting), location, contact information, sponsor, and miscellaneous information (e.g. publications that led up to this trial). Clinicaltrials.gov currently lists 4,000 trials and is continuously updated. It is aimed to become the most comprehensive central listing of clinical studies sponsored by the NIH, other federal agencies, pharmaceutical industry, and nonprofit organizations, such as universities.