The pregnancy registry program at Glaxo Wellcome Company

Registries can be used to provide an early warning system for potential ter atogenic effects associated with the use of specific medications during pre gnancy. Glaxo Wellcome has developed 5 international registries: (1) the Ac yclovir Pregnancy Registry, (2) the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry, (3) the Lamotrigine Pregnancy Registry, (4) the Sumatriptan Pregnancy Registry, and (5) the Bupropion Pregnancy Registry. The purpose of these registries is to gain more information about the potential teratogenicity of these dru gs during pregnancy, Two potential limitations of such registry data are re cognized: (1) the utility of the data collected depends on the size of the sample; and (2) the registered patients may not be representative of all pa tients using the medication. However, these types of registry reports can b e a valuable and cost-effective way to collect data regarding the use of me dications during pregnancy when conventional methods (eg, cohort studies) a re not appropriate or feasible.