News @ a glance

India and China register: The WHO has expanded its clinical trial registry to include trial registers in China and India. This will allow policy-makers and scientist to track local research, improve the quality of research and meet global standards for transparency. The public will also have free access to a more complete picture of clinical research on diseases. The registers will “contribute to improving the ethical conduct of and public trust in clinical trials,” stated WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan. Both registers will work with their regional medical journals, building on the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors' requirement that clinical trials be publicly registered before participants are enrolled.

Cannabis v. tobacco: A single joint of cannabis can damage the lungs as much as chain-smoking up to 5 tobacco cigarettes, indicates new research (Thorax 2007 July 31; Epub ahead of print). The New Zealand study, involving 339 subjects, also found that cannabis damaged the lung's ability to get oxygen and remove waste products.

e-Electioneering: Ontario's Progressive Conservatives are promising electronic health records for every resident within 7 years, if they are elected on Oct. 10. Alberta and Prince Edward Island plan to have their systems in place in 2008; BC will follow in 2009.

Pharmacy of the developing world: India can continue to provide affordable medicines in developing countries after the High Court in Chennai, India, upheld India's Patents Act against a challenge from the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Novartis. “This is a huge relief for millions of patients and doctors in developing countries who depend on affordable medicines from India,” stated Dr. Tido von Schoen-Angerer, director of Médecins sans Frontières Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. Eighty-four percent of the antiretrovirals MSF physicians prescribe worldwide come from India. More than 420 000 people signed a petition asking Novartis to drop its case. Novartis cited World Trade Organization rules in its bid for more extensive patent protection.

Photo by: Barbara Sibbald

Medical ethics award: Dr. John Dossetor (pictured above), CMAJ's former Ombudsman (2002–2006) and a member of the 2006 CMAJ Governance Review Panel, was awarded the inaugural Dr. William Marsden Award in Medical Ethics at the CMA Annual Meeting on Aug. 22. Dossetor coordinated the first kidney transplant in Canada and went on to be a trailblazer in the emerging field of medical ethics. He was a founding member of the Canadian Society of Medical Bioethics and co-founded Alberta's Health Ethics Network (CMAJ 2002:166:1327). — Compiled by Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ