PubMed Central hits UK

Six biomedical research funding bodies and charities, headed by the Wellcome Trust, have formed an alliance to create the UK's own PubMed Central, a British version of the US repository of openly available peer-reviewed scientific research.

UK PubMed Central will provide free access to its digital archive, alongside links to the US National Library of Medicine operated by PubMed Central. Wellcome has aligned with the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the Arthritis Research Campaign, two biomedical research councils and JISC to back the project.

"Digital archives such as PubMed Central add enormous value to research," said Dr Mark Walport (pictured above), director of the Wellcome Trust. "Everyone will be able to read the results of the research that we fund." The consortium has called on organisations interested in hosting UK PubMed Central to place tenders by 10 June.

"The creation of a database containing these papers will aid the BHF in analysing the outcomes of its research and planning future strategies," said Professor Jeremy Pearson, BHF associate medical director.

"We are committed to achieving the maximum impact from the research we fund - that means making the findings accessible to those who most want to see them," added Walport.

Only final peer-reviewed papers would be placed on the repository, said a Wellcome spokesman. "If everything is peer-reviewed it doesn't sacrifice the quality."

The Wellcome Trust has revised its depositing rules. From 1 October 2005, all new research projects it funds will have to be deposited within six months of publication.