About the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT)

The mRCT is a platform that:

Pools together several international trial sources, for example the ISRCTN Register and ClinicalTrials.gov

Shows subsets (or views) from the ISRCTN Register. This is the case for trials funded or adopted by research funders or sponsors such as the UK Medical Research Council, the NIHR HTA programme and the Wellcome Trust. Having a specific register within the mRCT is a way to showcase the research these organisations fund or sponsor without relying on on-the-fly searches that could potentially return trials that these organisations have not officially acknowledged.

The mRCT provides a service to the following groups:

Health professionals using evidence from controlled trials who want to be confident that they are aware of all of the trial evidence relevant to a particular question

Research funding agencies (public, commercial and charitable) who want to take their funding decisions in the light of information about relevant ongoing research, both to avoid duplication of effort and to promote collaboration

Patients and other types of participants who wish to be informed about trials in which they can participate or to which they can contribute in other ways.

The mRCT can be searched freely.

The mRCT is owned and managed by Current Controlled Trials Ltd. It was initially created in response to an initiative taken in 1998 that brought together representatives from the UK Medical Research Council, the National Health Service Executive, medical charities, pharmaceutical companies, the UK Cochrane Centre, and journals such as the British Medical Journal and The Lancet to ensure that minimum trial information was made publicly available.

For more information on the mRCT please visit the mRCT FAQs or alternatively contact the CCT Editorial Team.

March 2010