Tag Archives: Multicenter trials

NIH Issues Final Policy on Use of Single IRB

Institutional review boards, Policy, Regulatory issues, , , ,

The NIH has issued a final policy requiring the use of a single institutional review board (sIRB) for multi-site non-exempt human subjects research funded by the NIH. The policy will take effect May 25, 2017.

According to the policy announcement, “while the NIH anticipates that that there will be challenges associated with implementation, we expect these to be short-lived. Once the transition to the new way of operating is made, the benefits of widespread use of sIRBs will outweigh any costs and, ultimately, reduce burdens to the research process.”

In proposals submitted to the NIH, applicants will be expected to include a plan identifying the sIRB that will serve as the IRB of record for all study sites. It will be the applicants’ responsibility to assure that the sIRB is qualified to serve. NIH acceptance of the submitted plan will be incorporated as a term and condition in the award. Awardees will be responsible for ensuring that the authorization agreements between IRBs (“reliance agreements”) are in place.

According to the policy, “The additional costs associated with sIRB review may be charged to grants or contracts as direct costs, provided that such costs are well-justified and consistently treated as either direct or indirect costs according to applicable cost principles in the NIH Grants Policy Statement and the FAR 31.202 (Direct Costs) and FAR 31.203 (Indirect Costs).”

Before the policy takes effect, the NIH will be issuing guidance and resources to assist with implementation.

Read the full policy for additional details.

Grand Rounds (4-25-2014): CTTI’s Central IRB Advancement Project

Pragmatic clinical trials, Regulatory issues, , , ,

Update:

Archived video and slides from the April 25 Grand Rounds are now available on the NIH Collaboratory Grand Rounds webpage.

This Friday’s NIH Collaboratory and PCORnet Grand Rounds (“CTTI Advancing the Use of Central IRBs Project: Academic Institution and Government Sponsor Perspectives”) will be presented by Cynthia Hahn and Petra Kaufmann, MD, MSc, team leaders for the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative’s Central IRB Advancement Project. Ms. Hahn is vice president of Clinical Research & Regulatory Affairs for the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Dr. Kaufmann is director of the Office of Clinical Research for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

CTTI’s Central IRB Advancement Project is a follow-up to its previous Central IRB Project that conducted expert and stakeholder interviews to produce considerations and recommendations for central IRB adoption. The current project will take additional steps in encouraging the implementation of these recommendations and addressing remaining barriers to further advance the use of central IRBs for multicenter clinical trials. Expected deliverables include tools and best practices for researchers, sponsors, sites, and IRBs.

The Grand Rounds presentation will take place from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern time on Friday, April 25. Details are available here. Archived video and slides from the presentation will be available early the following week; links to archived material will be provided in an update to this post.