I am looking for one or more clinical trials databases that 1)
includes all drug candidates currently in clinical trials in the
United States (not just for a particular indication) 2) that is
available for free and 3) appears to be updated on a fairly regular
basis.  Ideally, this database would include information such as the
company developing the drug, the drug's stage of development, the
indication being sought, and any potential development partner.  My
research has yielded several-fee based sources (very expensive), such
as biospace.com, which are comprehensive.  I'm looking for something
that better fits my budget!  Your help is appreciated.

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Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 29 Oct 2002 08:39 PST

Hi svannes, 

There is an online database of over 6700 clinical trials being
conducted in the US and overseas (80% US).  This database allows you
to browse condition or sponsor or search based on keywords (ie. Drug
name, trial locations, condition etc).

Here is a sample record from that database (I’ve cut some sections for
the sake of brevity but have labelled them so you know what’s missing)
--

-------------------------------------

Combination Therapy with Avonex and BiMonthly High Dose Intravenous
Methotrexate in Multiple Sclerosis

This study is currently recruiting patients.

Sponsored by: 
 
MidAmerica Neuroscience Institute 
Consultants in Neurology, PC 
MidAmerica Neuroscience Research Foundation 
Biogen 

Purpose :

The participant will receive weekly intramuscular treatment with
AVONEX® (interferon beta 1-a) and bi-monthly high dose intravenous
methotrexate with Leucovorin rescue.

Condition - Multiple Sclerosis   
Treatment or Intervention  -- Drug: interferon beta 1a ; Drug:
methotrexate
Phase:  Phase IV  

MEDLINEplus related topics:  Multiple Sclerosis

Study Type: Interventional
Study Design: Treatment, Non-Randomized, Open Label, Active Control,
Single Group Assignment, Safety/Efficacy Study

Official Title: An Open Label Study of the Safety and Efficacy of
Combination Therapy with AVONEX and Bi-Monthly High Dose Intravenous
Methotrexate with Leucovorin Rescue in the Treatment of Multiple
Sclerosis

Further Study Details: 

The participant will receive weekly intramuscular treatment with
AVONEX® (interferon beta 1-a) and bi-monthly high dose intravenous
methotrexate with Leucovorin rescue…… [cut 3 long paragraphs of study
description]

 Eligibility 

Ages Eligible for Study:  18 Years   -   60 Years,  
Genders Eligible for Study:  Both 

Criteria :

To be eligible for entry into this study, candidates must meet the
following eligibility criteria at the time of enrollment:

Between the ages of 18 and 60 years, inclusive. 
Diagnosis of clinically definite relapsing MS. 
Must have been on AVONEX® therapy for at least six months. 
Brain MRI scans demonstrating lesions consistent with MS. 

[cut long paragraph of criteria description]


Expected Total Enrollment:  15 

Location and Contact Information 

Missouri 
MidAmerica Neuroscience Institute, Kansas City,   Missouri,   64108,  
United States; Recruiting
Laurie A Dressman, RN, BA  816-753-8800  Ext. 124  ldressman@cinpc.com
John A Hunter, PsyD  816-753-8800  Ext. 145  jhunter@cinpc.com  
Vernon D Rowe, MD,  Principal Investigator 

More Information 

Study ID Numbers  MANI-MTX01-001 
Date study started July 2001 
Record last reviewed  May 2002 
NLM Identifier  NCT00037102 

---------------------------------

This appears to me to be the same information that is a available
through the biospace.com subscription.  If so, would you like me to
post an answer with a link to this database?  If not, maybe you can
clarify why it doesn’t meet your needs. Thanks –

-K~

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Clarification of Question by svannes-ga on 29 Oct 2002 09:21 PST

You are on the right track, but clarification is in order.  I think
that the database to which you refer is the one at clinicaltrials.gov.
 While this does contain most of the information, I need an entire
database that could be easily downloaded and stored, for example, as a
delimited text file.  To construct such a file from the
clinicaltrials.gov database would be a substantial chore because I
there appears to be no way to do a complete download of the source
data.  A good prototype of what I am searching for can be found at
http://www.fda.gov/cder/orange/obreadme.htm  Here you can download a
zipped archive "EOBZIP", which has records of all drugs currently on
the market in the US.  I am looking for a file such as this that
contains similar information on all drugs currently in development. 
Again, thanks for your diligent work.  You are definitely getting
close.    Please inquire about any further points of clarification.

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Clarification of Question by svannes-ga on 29 Oct 2002 09:25 PST

By the way, I would be happy to provide a good tip for anyone that can
locate this information in the format I'm seeking.  Thanks.