ClinicalTrials.gov is a website and online database of clinical research studiesand information about their results. The purpose of ClinicalTrials.gov is to provide information about clinical research studies to the public, researchers, and health care professionals. The U.S. government does not review or approve the safety and science of all studies listed on this website.
ClinicalTrials.gov:
No. The U.S. government does not review or approve the safety and science of all studies listed in the ClinicalTrials.gov database. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other U.S. agencies only approve the studies that they fund. U.S. government agencies do not fund all the studies listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) does a limited review of the study information that sponsors and investigators submit to be included in the study record in the ClinicalTrials.gov database. The study sponsor or investigator is responsible for the safety, science and accuracy of any study they list on ClinicalTrials.gov. They are also responsible for ensuring that their study follows all relevant laws and regulations.
ClinicalTrials.gov lists studies that involve people, have health-related research questions, and follow ethics review and other health authority rules and laws. The ClinicalTrials.gov database includes these types of studies:
Learn more about types of clinical research studies on the Learn About Studiespage.