PLoS announces PLoS Clinical Trials, new open access journal

["Helen Doyle" <hdoyle@plos.org>]

Of possible interest to list members.  Apologies for cross-postings.
 
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PLoS Announces Open Access Journal for All Clinical Trials, Positive or
Negative
 
San Francisco, USA, October 18, 2005 - The Public Library of Science
(PLoS) today announces PLoS Clinical Trials, an innovative new journal
devoted to peer-reviewing and publishing reports of randomized clinical
trials in all areas of healthcare (http://www.plosclinicaltrials.org).
 
The journal differs from other medical journals in one crucial respect.  
It will publish all trials that are ethically and scientifically sound and
entered into an internationally accepted registry, regardless of the
trial's size or whether the results are positive or negative.  PLoS
Clinical Trials is now accepting manuscripts in advance of its spring 2006
launch.
 
Around half of all completed trial reports are thought to go unpublished.
These unpublished trial reports differ systematically from those that are
published in the direction and strength of the findings, thus distorting
the evidence base for decision-making in healthcare.
 
"Unpublished results undermine the trust between patients and
investigators and slow the vast potential of medical progress," says Dr
Christian Gluud of Copenhagen University Hospital, a member of the
Advisory Board of PLoS Clinical Trials.
 
Traditional medical journals publish only the highest profile clinical
trials (typically positive trials), partly because the journals must
attract revenues from subscriptions and selling reprints.  PLoS Clinical
Trials avoids this problem -- it doesn't have to sell subscriptions or
reprints to be viable, so it can publish the broadest range of trials.
 
Citation: Veitch E, PLoS Medicine Editors (2005) Tackling publication bias
in clinical trial reporting. PLoS Med 2(10): e367.  
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020367
 
CONTACT FOR PLoS CLINICAL TRIALS:
Emma Veitch, PhD
Publications Manager
Public Library of Science
7 Portugal Place
Cambridge CB5 8AF, UK
UK:  01223 463 343
eveitch@plos.org 
 
 
PLoS Medicine Publishes Key Papers on Clinical Trial Reporting, Registries
and Patient Advocacy
 
To mark the announcement, PLoS Medicine is publishing three articles that
highlight important issues in clinical trial reporting:
 
* Ida Sim of the University of California San Francisco and Don Detmer of
the University of Virginia discuss the Global Trial Bank Project
(http://globaltrialbank.org), which is partnering with PLoS Clinical
Trials, and which will publish trial protocols and results in a computable
format.  With this format, say the authors, scientists will be able to
analyze data across trials to compare and contrast trials and to generate
new findings and insights. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020365
 
* Karmela Kriea-Jeric of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
compares the clinical trial registries that have been proposed by the WHO,
the pharmaceutical industry, and the Ottawa group (the group that has
endorsed the Ottawa statement on trial registration, at
http://ottawagroup.ohri.ca).  Both the WHO's and industry's proposals are
far less reaching than the Ottawa statement, says the author, and the
different parties need to find a compromise between proprietary interests
and knowledge sharing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020378
 
* Musa Mayer, breast cancer patient advocate, and author of three books on
breast cancer, gives her view on why it is so crucial for patients that
controlled clinical trials are performed and reported to the very highest
standards.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020358

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