Canadian research studies not affected by switch in ethical review board

Aurora, ON – When the Trafalgar Ethics Board Inc. (TEB) ceased operations last month due to business reasons a new player, Institutional Review Board Services (IRB) stepped in to ensure a smooth transition, bringing peace of mind to both researchers and participants currently involved in important clinical studies across the country.

TEB, based in Oakville, ON, chose IRB to guide the shutting down process to ensure continuity of ethics approval for vital research. The primary role of these organizations is to protect the rights and welfare of study participants, ensuring that they are fully informed. This is balanced with helping researchers carry out their studies, ethically and within all governing rules, regulations and guidelines.

“This is one of the very few first times in North America that an independent ethics board has had to voluntarily close its doors,” said IRB president Jack Corman, noting that it was extremely important to ensure ongoing ethical oversight for all research studies and clinical trials engaged by TEB. “Otherwise, there would be no ethics approval in place for the research which is a very serious breach of Canadian, U.S. and international clinical trial regulations and all research activity would have had to cease,” he added.

An independent organization, IRB is accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) and operates research ethics committees in Toronto; Montreal; and Boca Raton, Florida. It reviews a wide range of both industry and publicly funded human subject research across multiple disciplines, including Health Canada, Food and Drug Administration, and US Department of Health and Human Services regulated research.