Glaxo to publish clinical research on wel

By Geoff Dyer in London

GlaxoSmithKline, the drugs group which has been accused of covering up unfavourable information about an antidepressant, is to publish the results of all its clinical trials on the internet.

The unprecedented decision by the Anglo-American group will put pressure on other drugs companies to become more transparent about the results of their research.

GSK said it had been planning to set up the website for the research results on all its products for several months and was taking a "very bold step" to improve the information available to patients and doctors.

However, the announcement comes two weeks after Eliot Spitzer, the New York state attorney-general, issued a lawsuit accusing GSK of fraudulently suppressing research that suggested its Paxil antidepressant was ineffective and unsafe in treating children.

It also follows growing calls from the scientific community for companies to take advantage of the internet to make more information available about their research.

GSK said that once a product had been approved by regulators it would publish the results of all the clinical trials of the drug as well as important information about the way the trials were conducted. This includes drugs already on the market.

If the group then sought approval to use the drug for other indications – such as a different disease or another type of patient – It would publish the results of trials as soon as they were completed. However, the group would not publish all the results about products that failed in development.

Paxil, which is known as Seroxat in the UK, was approved by regulators for use by adults. During, the 1990s, the company conducted further studies to determine whether the drug was safe and effective in children.

GSK has been accused of delaying publication of those trials which appeared to show an increased likelihood that children taking the drug might experience suicidal behaviour. Last year, regulators in the UK and the US warned doctors not to prescribe the drug for under-18s.

The group denies the charges and says it made all the information available to regulators as well as publishing it in scientific journals and at conferences.

Alastair Benbow, the group's European medical director, said GSK still did not believe it had done anything wrong in the Paxil case. However, he said the decision to put all the results on the internet was "an important step to restore public faith in medical research".

Text 13

India's outsourcing stocks could be in for a bumpy ride

By Peter Wonacott

New Delhi-India's technology companies have driven the country's high-octane economy and attracted billions of dollars in foreign funds to the stock market. But the high expectations that have come with that success are casting a shadow over India's star performers.

Despite the bright outlook for India's information-technology and outsourcing industry, the coming months could be volatile for the sector's blue-chip stocks. That is because even slight downward blips in earnings are likely to disappoint investors.

And amid a squeeze for human talent in India, and the potential backlash against job losses in the U.S. and Europe, the industry will be challenged to keep up its high-paced growth, especially if a strengthening currency means India's outsourcing companies take home fewer rupees on the dollars they earn from clients.

The quarterly results announced Wednesday by Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second-largest outsourcing company by revenue, illustrate how high the bar has been set. For the period ended Dec. 31, Infosys reported a 28% gain in net profit from a year earlier. But its American depositary receipts fell 9.4% to $73.06 Wednesday as the result was below Wall Street expectations. That triggered Infosys's stock price to fall 4.7% Thursday in Mumbai trading.

On Thursday Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., the largest Indian outsourcing company, reported that net profit for the last three months of 2005 rose 5.6% from a year earlier. Wipro Ltd., another big outsourcing company, will report its results for the quarter next week.

For 2006 the Indian companies will need to meet ambitious goals, according to some fund managers. The companies must maintain at least 30% revenue growth, contends Pradeep Kumar, an investment manager at the Chola Mutual Fund in Mumbai. Anything less, he warns, and "I would consider the stocks expensive."

Also dimming the luster is a sudden proliferation of choice for buyers of Indian stocks. The nation's technology companies typically receive the bulk of funds from foreign institutional investors. But while the three biggest companies registered robust price gains last year – Tata Consultancy Services rose 26% and Wipro climbed 23% – only Infosys was able to match the gain registered by the Mumbai exchange's benchmark index. During 2005, the 30-stock Sensitive Index jumped 41%, as did Infosys's stock price.

The 2005 rally illustrates how broad-based India's stock market has become, thanks in large part to the role that technology companies have played in putting money in the pockets of India's young urbanites. They, in turn, are now spending it on what other big listed companies sell: consumer goods, cars and financial services.

The financial results for the most recent quarter are the latest indicator of the technology sector's health and outlook. Judging from an industry bellwether, Infosys, signs are good. Infosys's gains came on the back of orders from industries where it didn't previously have clients, including energy and Pharmaceuticals.

Despite concerns, overall there remain plenty of positive signs for India's biggest outsourcing compa­nies. For one thing, they continue to reel in most of the industry's business, unchallenged by upstarts, says Paras Adenwala, chief investment officer at ING Investment Management (India) Ltd. in Mumbai.

At the same time, the global business of outsourcing is poised to expand dramatically.

—Rasul Bailay

contributed to this article.

Text 14