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In October 2024, the World Medical Association (WMA) announced the adoption of the 2024 revision of the Declaration of Helsinki (DoH) during the 75th WMA General Assembly in Helsinki, Finland, the same location where the Declaration was initially adopted 60 years prior.
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On September 27, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to an Institutional Review Board (IRB) as a result of a (BIMO) inspection from July of 2023. BIMO inspections evaluate compliance with of FDA regulatory requirements, in this case, title 21 CFR Parts 50, protection of human subject, and 56, Intuitional Review Boards.
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On November 8, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a virtual public webinar for clinical research stakeholders as well as anyone interested in the informed consent process of clinical trials titled “Informed Consent – More than Just Another Document to Sign?”. As the title suggests, the webinar explores the standards for informed consent in FDA regulated trials, how they are impacting the trial participant’s experience, and how they can be innovated and improved upon.
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On October 10, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Warning Letter to a clinical investigator due to objectionable conditions observed during a Bioresearch Monitoring (BIMO) Program inspection in 2023. The warning letter addresses multiple violations to Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
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Recently, a community hospital Institutional Review Board (IRB) received a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letter for lack of appropriate members present to review research, inadequate documentation, and inadequate informed consent review.
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Section 3023 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) requires harmonizing the human subject protection regulations between U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In efforts to harmonize with the revised Common Rule, the FDA recently published two proposed rules.
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During the pandemic, it has become evident that we must continue to consent COVID-19 patients into clinical trials as we work to discover treatment options and better understand other aspects of the disease. Because of isolation restrictions, it is more cumbersome for all involved to conduct the informed consent process as we are accustomed. The investigator or delegate is likely not permitted into the isolation room to discuss the aspects of the trial with the potential subject. This leads to barriers to their ability to see important facial features communicated during a conversation.
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Although electronic consent is permitted and encouraged by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many stakeholders have continued to use paper consents. Investigators have been having difficulties obtaining informed consent from subjects during the COVID-19 restrictions, especially from patients in isolation. The FDA developed the MyStudies application in 2018 as a tool to collect real-world data from subjects. Currently, it is available as the COVID MyStudies app in mobile device app stores for download. The app is intended to provide a reliable and regulatory-compliant way to obtain electronic informed consent.
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The FDA released new topics in the FAQ section of the guidance document for conducting clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapidly changing environment of the crisis has made it challenging to continue conducting and monitoring clinical trials in the traditional manner due to restrictions on travelling, dispensing investigational products, and social gathering. New questions continue to arise as the logistics of monitoring and conducting clinical trials become apparent.