Ethics Review Committees

Abstract

What exactly are Ethics Review Committees? They are usually associated with an institution, such as a university, a company, or a government agency within a nation. In addition, some are independent, private, for-profit companies. These committees go by different names in different countries. In the US such committees are called Human Subjects boards, or (more officially) Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). They were given this official designation by the US Congress in 1974.¹ In Canada they are called Research Ethics Boards (REBs), and in the UK they are usually referred to as Ethical Committees (ECs).² I have simply referred to them as Ethics Review Committees (ERCs) since this seems the most descriptive designation for what these committees actually do. There are not presently any international Ethics Review Committees (though WHO has recently begun to give some consideration to the idea of an international ERC). But as of now, all ERCs are either national in scope, or local, i.e., associated with an institution or an agency within a nation. What this means is that ethics policy normally is determined within individual countries. In fact, even if there is an international Ethics Review Committee in existence when the first candidate vaccines are ready for phase III trials (i.e., an ERC with international “authority” to recommend policy), CIOMS Guidelines still require that the research protocol pass ERC review both in the country of origin, and in the country or countries where the trials will take place.³ Even if there are internationally focused ERCs, ethical review will still need to be done in the country hosting the trial.