COVID-19 Clinical Trials

With the pandemic of COVID-19 affecting the way of life across the globe, companies continue to accelerate the clinical development of a vaccine or a therapeutic. The number of Covid-19 clinical trials has been steadily growing because of the increases in incidence...

Pearl IRB COVID-19 Response

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended the implementation of several community actions in an effort to reduce people’s risk of being exposed to COVID-19. These actions slow the spread, reduce the impact of disease (i.e., “flatten the...

Single IRB – A Guide for the Common Rule sIRB Mandate

The revised Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the “Common Rule”) collaborative (multi-site) research provision requires that U.S. institutions engaged in cooperative research conducted or supported by a Common Rule agency must rely on a single IRB...

The world’s first gene-edited babies claim, 8 days later

In the latest example of regulations not keeping up with technology, on November 25, 2018, Marilynn Marchione of the AP published a report regarding He Jiankui’s claim that he had helped create the world’s first gene-edited babies using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. He...