PRINCETON, NJ - May 11, 2015 - WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG), the world's largest provider of regulatory and ethical review services for human research and a leading provider of software solutions designed to accelerate clinical trials safely, announced today that its New England Institutional Review Board (IRB) has been reaccredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). This association serves to protect the rights and welfare of clinical research participants, and also to build public trust and confidence in research.

“At WCG, we endeavor to attain the highest quality and efficiency standards in all our business operations and we have our work reviewed regularly by external experts,” commented WCG Chairman and CEO Donald A. Deieso, Ph.D. “As a result, all of our 14 review panels are AAHRPP accredited; our Western IRB and Copernicus Group IRB are the only two IRBs certified to ISO 9001:2008; and we have also achieved Lean Six Sigma certification.”

“New England IRB’s AAHRPP reaccreditation underscores WCG’s commitment to championing scientifically and ethically sound research, safeguarding clinical trial participants, and demonstrating continuous improvement,” said AAHRPP President and CEO Elyse Summers, J.D.

“WCG has always been a strong proponent of the AAHRPP accreditation process and we consider it to be an important validation of the high quality of our clinical reviews,” said WCG Chief Compliance Officer David Forster, JD, MA, CIP. “In addition to ensuring that all our IRBs are AAHRPP accredited, we also help other institutions to achieve that milestone through our WCG Consulting division.”

Founded in 1988, New England IRB is one of the original independent IRBs established to meet the review needs of sponsors, contract research organizations, and investigators across the United States. First accredited by AAHRPP in 2003, New England IRB was among the first cohort of central IRBs to achieve AAHRPP accreditation.

AAHRPP accreditation is an intensive process. AAHRPP reviews an IRB’s records, policies, procedures and other materials. It also performs an on-site inspection of the organization’s minutes, sample protocols and consent forms, and conducts employee interviews. In addition, AAHRPP requires the IRB to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to process improvement. AAHRPP accreditation has to be renewed after three years the first time and then every five years after that.

Today, New England IRB provides high-quality, full-service, independent ethical review services to New England’s fast-growing biopharmaceutical industry, which now accounts for more than 10 percent of the U.S. drug development pipeline.

To learn more about AAHRPP, please visit www.aahrpp.org.

About the WIRB-Copernicus Group

WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG) is the world's largest provider of regulatory and ethical solutions for clinical research. The company provides Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) reviews, and Human Research Protection (HRP), Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Biosafety consulting services. Its technology offerings include IRB workflow management solutions (IRBNet), clinical trial management software for sponsors and contract research organizations (ePharmaSolutions), and Part-11 compliant online learning solutions for research professionals (WCG Academy).

The pioneer of independent ethical oversight, WCG continues to drive progress in the clinical research space. WCG empowers clients to accelerate life-saving advancements, while ensuring that the risks of progress never outweigh the value of human life.

For more information, please visit www.wcgclinical.com or follow us on Twitter @WCGClinical.