GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to provide open access to its drug trial data. From the company's June 18 press release: "GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced today that it will 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 open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
