Clinical trial registries: The good, and the not so good.

Abstract

Clinical trial registries are a vital part of the infrastructure of a robust clinical research ecosystem, itself essential for biomedical translational research. We describe what clinical trial registries are, provide a brief history of the major registries, list the major registries today, mention some of the flaws in these registries, comment on the economics of trial registries, give details of the Indian registry, Clinical Trials Registry - India, and catalogue three examples of research done with data in the Indian registry.