A Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) article says the new streamlined research ethics review process in Ontario is “already showing positive results.”
The news article posted online on Nov. 30, says both Ontario and Quebec “have made strides this year to increase the efficiency of multisite clinical trials” by streamlining research ethics review.
“Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO), an organization supported by the Ontario government, launched its web-based system to streamline applications and reviews in March and is seeing faster approval times,” writes Shannon Lough.
So far, 18 studies have used the new CTO Streamlined Research Ethics Review System, which enables any single ‘CTO Qualified’ research ethics board in Ontario to provide ethics review and oversight for multiple research sites participating in the same clinical trial.
For the first group of studies going through the CTO Streamlined System, the median approval time was 41 days. Once ethics approval is in place, individual sites “can join the trial in as little as five days,” CMAJ reports.