This provides us with a chance to voice our opinions on Human Subjects Research.Summary"The Office of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in coordination with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is issuing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to request comment on how current regulations for protecting human subjects who participate in research might be modernized and revised to be more effective. This ANPRM seeks comment on how to better protect human subjects who are involved in research, while facilitating valuable research and reducing burden, delay, and ambiguity for investigators.The current regulations governing human subjects research were developed years ago when research was predominantly conducted at universities, colleges, and medical institutions, and each study generally took place at only a single site. Although the regulations have been amended over the years, they have not kept pace with the evolving human research enterprise, the proliferation of multi-site clinical trials and observational studies, the expansion of health services research, research in the social and behavioral sciences, and research involving databases, the Internet, and biological specimen repositories, and the use of advanced technologies, such as genomics. Revisions to the current human subjects regulations are being considered because OSTP and HHS believe these changes would strengthen protections for research subjects."ADDRESSES: Back to TopYou may submit comments, identified by docket ID number HHS-OPHS-2011-0005, by one of the following methods:* Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Enter the above docket ID number in the “Enter Keyword or ID” field and click on “Search.” On the next Web page, click on “Submit a Comment” action and follow the instructions.* Mail/Hand delivery/Courier [For paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions] to: Jerry Menikoff, M.D., J.D., OHRP, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 200, Rockville, MD 20852.
"In response to these various criticisms, we propose changes to the following seven aspects of the current regulatory framework. The fundamental goal is to enhance the effectiveness of the research oversight system by improving the protections for human subjects while also reducing burdens, delays, and ambiguity for investigators and research subjects.
1. Refinement of the existing risk-based regulatory framework (Section II);
2. Utilization of a single IRB review of record for domestic sites of multi-site studies (Section III);
3. Improvement of consent forms and the consent process (Section IV);
4. Establishment of mandatory data security and information protection standards for all studies that involve identifiable or potentially identifiable data (Section V);
5. Establishment of an improved, more systematic approach for the collection and analysis of data on unanticipated problems and adverse events (Section VI);
6. Extension of Federal regulatory protections to all research, regardless of funding source, conducted at institutions in the U.S. that receive some Federal funding from a Common Rule agency for research with human subjects (Section VII); and
7. Improvement in the harmonization of regulations and related agency guidance (Section VIII).
We believe the proposals we are considering uphold and better reflect the ethical principles upon which the Common Rule is based. We recognize that this ANPRM is both lengthy and detailed. However this level of detail reflects the importance and types of changes that have been proposed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), NBAC, and other commentators and are now being considered for adoption. Comment is now sought on these proposals and on the broader question of how to modernize, simplify, and enhance the current system. The intent is to revise the Common Rule [36] recognizing that other laws and regulations, such as the other subparts of the HHS human subjects protection regulations (Subparts B, C, and D, which deal with particular populations of vulnerable subjects, and Subpart E of 45 CFR part 46), FDA regulations, and the HIPAA Privacy Rule most likely will be affected and will need to be harmonized, as appropriate, with any proposed regulatory changes made to the Common Rule.
As we consider how the current regulations governing human subjects research should be revised, we will take into account the deliberations of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. We will also consider the public comments received on the request for information that the Commission issued on March 2, 2011, that sought public comment on the current Federal and international standards for protecting the health and well-being of participants in scientific studies supported by the Federal Government. [37] " http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/07/26/2011-18792/human...
"Sixth, concerns have been expressed that the current regulatory system does not adequately protect all research subjects. [33] For instance, only some research studies funded by certain Federal agencies or those that involve the development of products subject to regulation by the FDA, are subject to the Common Rule or similar protections. As a result, there are many studies that are not subject to any such Federal oversight, even though they may involve substantial risks to the subjects.
Seventh, the multiple, differing regulatory requirements that can apply to a single research study have been criticized as complex, inconsistent, and lacking in clarity, which results in unwarranted variability across institutions and their IRBs in how the requirements are interpreted and implemented. [34] For example, Federal agencies that have adopted the Common Rule have issued guidance and developed norms of implementation that sometimes differ and may, in certain instances, even conflict with guidance from other Common Rule agencies. Similarly, the overlapping and sometimes, arguably, inconsistent requirements of the Common Rule and the HIPAA Privacy Rule have been criticized as being overly complex, causing confusion and frustration among investigators, IRBs, and others trying to comply with both sets of requirements. [35] " http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/07/26/2011-18792/human...
U.S. Federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research have been in existence for more than three decades. Twenty years have passed since the “Common Rule,” (codified at Subpart A of 45 CFR part 46) was adopted by 15 U.S. Federal departments and agencies in an effort to promote uniformity, understanding, and compliance with human subject protections. [1]
Existing regulations governing the protection of human subjects in Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated research (21 CFR parts 50, 56, 312, and 812) are separate from the Common Rule but include similar requirements.
The history of contemporary human subjects protections began in 1947 with the Nuremberg Code, developed for the Nuremberg Military Tribunal as standards by which to judge the human experimentation conducted by the Nazis. The Code captures many of what are now taken to be the basic principles governing the ethical conduct of research involving human subjects.
Similar recommendations were made by the World Medical Association in its Declaration of Helsinki: Recommendations Guiding Medical Doctors in Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects, first adopted in 1964 and subsequently revised many times.
Basic regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research supported or conducted by HHS (then the Department of Health, Education and Welfare) were first published in 1974. In the United States, a series of highly publicized abuses in research led to the enactment of the 1974 National Research Act (93), which created the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (National Commission). One of the charges to the National Commission was to identify the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects and to develop guidelines to assure that such research is conducted in accordance with those principles. In 1979, the National Commission published “Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research,” also known as the Belmont Report (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/belmont.html) which identified three fundamental ethical principles for all human subjects research—respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
Based on the Belmont Report and other work of the National Commission, HHS revised and expanded its regulations for the protection of human subjects in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The HHS regulations are codified at 45 CFR part 46, subparts A through E. The statutory authority for the HHS regulations derives from 5 U.S.C. 301; 42 U.S.C. 300v-1(b); and 42 U.S.C. 289.
In 1991, 14 other Federal departments and agencies joined HHS in adopting a uniform set of rules for the protection of human subjects, the “Common Rule,” identical to subpart A of 45 CFR part 46 of the HHS regulations.
The Common Rule requires that Federally funded investigators in most instances obtain and document the informed consent of research subjects, and describes requirements for institutional review board (IRB) membership, function, operations, research review, and recordkeeping. The regulations also delineate criteria for, and levels of, IRB review. Currently, except for human subjects research that is determined to be exempt from the regulations, Federally funded research involving human subjects is reviewed by an IRB in one of two ways: (1) By a convened IRB, or (2) through an expedited review process.
Since the Common Rule was developed, the landscape of research activities has changed dramatically, accompanied by a marked increase in the volume of research. It is estimated that total spending on health-related research and development by the drug industry and the Federal government has tripled since 1990. [2] While traditional biomedical research conducted in academic medical centers continues to flourish, many studies are now also conducted at c
Comments
1. Refinement of the existing risk-based regulatory framework (Section II);
2. Utilization of a single IRB review of record for domestic sites of multi-site studies (Section III);
3. Improvement of consent forms and the consent process (Section IV);
4. Establishment of mandatory data security and information protection standards for all studies that involve identifiable or potentially identifiable data (Section V);
5. Establishment of an improved, more systematic approach for the collection and analysis of data on unanticipated problems and adverse events (Section VI);
6. Extension of Federal regulatory protections to all research, regardless of funding source, conducted at institutions in the U.S. that receive some Federal funding from a Common Rule agency for research with human subjects (Section VII); and
7. Improvement in the harmonization of regulations and related agency guidance (Section VIII).
We believe the proposals we are considering uphold and better reflect the ethical principles upon which the Common Rule is based. We recognize that this ANPRM is both lengthy and detailed. However this level of detail reflects the importance and types of changes that have been proposed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), NBAC, and other commentators and are now being considered for adoption. Comment is now sought on these proposals and on the broader question of how to modernize, simplify, and enhance the current system. The intent is to revise the Common Rule [36] recognizing that other laws and regulations, such as the other subparts of the HHS human subjects protection regulations (Subparts B, C, and D, which deal with particular populations of vulnerable subjects, and Subpart E of 45 CFR part 46), FDA regulations, and the HIPAA Privacy Rule most likely will be affected and will need to be harmonized, as appropriate, with any proposed regulatory changes made to the Common Rule.
As we consider how the current regulations governing human subjects research should be revised, we will take into account the deliberations of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. We will also consider the public comments received on the request for information that the Commission issued on March 2, 2011, that sought public comment on the current Federal and international standards for protecting the health and well-being of participants in scientific studies supported by the Federal Government. [37] "
http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/07/26/2011-18792/human...
Seventh, the multiple, differing regulatory requirements that can apply to a single research study have been criticized as complex, inconsistent, and lacking in clarity, which results in unwarranted variability across institutions and their IRBs in how the requirements are interpreted and implemented. [34] For example, Federal agencies that have adopted the Common Rule have issued guidance and developed norms of implementation that sometimes differ and may, in certain instances, even conflict with guidance from other Common Rule agencies. Similarly, the overlapping and sometimes, arguably, inconsistent requirements of the Common Rule and the HIPAA Privacy Rule have been criticized as being overly complex, causing confusion and frustration among investigators, IRBs, and others trying to comply with both sets of requirements. [35] "
http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/07/26/2011-18792/human...
"
U.S. Federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research have been in existence for more than three decades. Twenty years have passed since the “Common Rule,” (codified at Subpart A of 45 CFR part 46) was adopted by 15 U.S. Federal departments and agencies in an effort to promote uniformity, understanding, and compliance with human subject protections. [1]
Existing regulations governing the protection of human subjects in Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated research (21 CFR parts 50, 56, 312, and 812) are separate from the Common Rule but include similar requirements.
The history of contemporary human subjects protections began in 1947 with the Nuremberg Code, developed for the Nuremberg Military Tribunal as standards by which to judge the human experimentation conducted by the Nazis. The Code captures many of what are now taken to be the basic principles governing the ethical conduct of research involving human subjects.
Similar recommendations were made by the World Medical Association in its Declaration of Helsinki: Recommendations Guiding Medical Doctors in Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects, first adopted in 1964 and subsequently revised many times.
Basic regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research supported or conducted by HHS (then the Department of Health, Education and Welfare) were first published in 1974. In the United States, a series of highly publicized abuses in research led to the enactment of the 1974 National Research Act (93), which created the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (National Commission). One of the charges to the National Commission was to identify the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects and to develop guidelines to assure that such research is conducted in accordance with those principles. In 1979, the National Commission published “Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research,” also known as the Belmont Report (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/belmont.html) which identified three fundamental ethical principles for all human subjects research—respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
Based on the Belmont Report and other work of the National Commission, HHS revised and expanded its regulations for the protection of human subjects in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The HHS regulations are codified at 45 CFR part 46, subparts A through E. The statutory authority for the HHS regulations derives from 5 U.S.C. 301; 42 U.S.C. 300v-1(b); and 42 U.S.C. 289.
In 1991, 14 other Federal departments and agencies joined HHS in adopting a uniform set of rules for the protection of human subjects, the “Common Rule,” identical to subpart A of 45 CFR part 46 of the HHS regulations.
The Common Rule requires that Federally funded investigators in most instances obtain and document the informed consent of research subjects, and describes requirements for institutional review board (IRB) membership, function, operations, research review, and recordkeeping. The regulations also delineate criteria for, and levels of, IRB review. Currently, except for human subjects research that is determined to be exempt from the regulations, Federally funded research involving human subjects is reviewed by an IRB in one of two ways: (1) By a convened IRB, or (2) through an expedited review process.
Since the Common Rule was developed, the landscape of research activities has changed dramatically, accompanied by a marked increase in the volume of research. It is estimated that total spending on health-related research and development by the drug industry and the Federal government has tripled since 1990. [2] While traditional biomedical research conducted in academic medical centers continues to flourish, many studies are now also conducted at c