There are both ethical and scientific reasons for registering trials. People who
participate in clinical trials expect their contributions to be made use of in improving
health care for everyone. Open access to information about ongoing and completed
trials will satisfy the ethical duty to trial participants and will promote greater
trust and public confidence in clinical research. Clinical trial registration in
open access registries will also reduce selective publication of trial results,
because by registering a trial the researchers commit to report the findings in
accordance with basic ethical principles.
Selective reporting, regardless of the reason for it, leads to an incomplete view
of the trial and its results. In addition to the above, clinical trial registration
will decrease wasteful duplication of research, promote international research collaboration
and ensure more efficient and effective allocation of research funds