Citizens For Responsible Care and Research (CIRCARE)

CIRCARE In re: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, Request for Comments on Issues of Privacy and Access With Regard to Human Genome Sequence Data, 77 Fed. Reg. 18,247 (2012) 2012-05-11: http://www.circare.org/submit/circare_pcsbi_20120511.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) U01AT001156 FCOI Nahin, R. Letter to Paul Katz, M.D., Mount Sinai Medical Center RE: MSMC Financial Conflict of Interest Policies 2004-03-23: http://www.circare.org/tact/U01AT001156_fcoi_20040323.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) 7U01HL092607 Audit Response Lamas, G.A. Memo RE: Medicaid Audit of TACT Investigator Dr. Zbigniew Grudzien, M.D. 2011-03-14: http://www.circare.org/tact/7U01HL092607_audit_response_20110314.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) AT001156 Financial Status Reports 2003-2009: http://www.circare.org/tact/at001156_tact_fsrs_2003_2009.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) U1AT001156A PMS Report 2002-2009 (2011-08-11): http://www.circare.org/tact/u1at001156a_tactpms_report_2002_2009.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) U1HL092607A PMS Report 2010 (2011-08-11): http://www.circare.org/tact/u1hl092607a_tact_pmsreport_2010.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) U1HL092607B PMS Report 2011 (2011-08-11): http://www.circare.org/tact/u1hl092607b_tact_pmsreport_2011.pdf

CIRCARE In re: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Notice and request for comment, Docket No DHS-2011-0074, 76 Fed. Reg. 81,517 (2011) 2012-02-21: http://www.circare.org/submit/circare_submission-dhs.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) Grant Number 5 U01 AT001156-02 Progress Reports Part 1 2012-02-19: http://www.circare.org/tact/tact_progressreports_pt1.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) Grant Number 5 U01 AT001156-02 Progress Reports Part 2 2012-02-19: http://www.circare.org/tact/tact_progressreports_pt2.pdf

Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) Grant Number 5 U01 AT001156-02 Progress Reports Part 3 2012-02-19: http://www.circare.org/tact/tact_progressreports_pt3.pdf

FDA Drug Approval Documents Collection Oregon Health Sciences University Digital Resources Library: http://cdm15412.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/fdadrug

Standards and Operational Guidance for Ethics Review of Health-Related Research with Human Participants. WHO Publications 2011: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241502948_eng.pdf

CIRCARE In re: Office of Science and Technology Policy, Notice, Request for Information: Building A 21st Century Bioeconomy, 76 Fed. Reg. 62,869 (2011) http://www.circare.org/submit/circare_ostp_rfi_20111204.pdf

Essex Institutional Review Board (CDER) 2011-07-26 [approval of fictitious protocol; additional]: http://www.circare.org/fdawls/essexirb_fdawl_20110726.pdf

Essex Institutional Review Board Form FDA 483 and Company Response 2011-04-11: http://www.circare.org/fdawls/essexirb_fdafoia_2011-6068.pdf

Waggoner, WC. Essex Institution Review Board Approval Letter to Bruce Frome, M.D. for study titled Ion Magnetic Induction Device (PAP-IMI-300) As An Immunomodulator in Treating Patients with AIDS. 1993-04-22: http://www.circare.org/pd/essexirb_19930422.pdf

Before the Medical Board of California in the Matter of the Second Amended Accusation Against Bruce M. Frome, M.D. Decision 2001-08-24: http://www.bioethicswatch.org/pd/frome_20010824.pdf

CIRCARE's response In re: Docket No. HHS–OPHS–2011–0005, Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Human Subjects Research Protections: Enhancing Protections for Research Subjects and Reducing Burden, Delay, and Ambiguity for Investigators, 76 Fed. Reg. 44,512 (2011). 2011-09-21: http://www.circare.org/submit/circare_anprm_response_201109.pdf

ANPRM for Revision to Common Rule Information Related to Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for Revisions to the Common Rule 2011-07-22 [Deadline for submission of comments is 2011-10-26]: http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/anprm2011page.html

Read the proposed changes to the Common Rule online [HTML]: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-07-26/html/2011-18792.htm [PDF]: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-07-26/pdf/2011-18792.pdf (ca. 88 pp. in MS Word)

How to submit comments on the proposed changes to the Common Rule: http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/submitanprmcomment.html

Mission Statement:

CIRCARE is a human rights organization dedicated to the protection of human subjects in research and medical treatment.

CIRCARE's mission is to raise the ethical and professional level of human subject research and medical treatment to a level that is compatible with the principles stated in the National Human Research Protections Act (NHRPA). Support for the enactment of the NHRPA is one of the most important missions of CIRCARE advocacy.

CIRCARE is particularly concerned with the protection of vulnerable subjects, i.e. the mentally incapacitated, children, seniors, the homeless, and the poor.

By raising public awareness of human subject vulnerability in research and treatment, CIRCARE works to prevent unethical practices. CIRCARE believes that good science and clinical practice are compatible with sound ethical principles that respect the rights and dignity of human subjects.

To accomplish its mission, CIRCARE works with the public, the Congress, and representatives of research funding agencies to increase overview and accountability of organizations (i.e. research institutions, hospitals, etc.) involved with human subject research. By establishing a dialog with the public and the scientific community, CIRCARE hopes to advance the ethical principles used in human subject research. This is accomplished through public policy statements, testimony at public hearings, a web site, and periodic publications.

Of particular concern to CIRCARE is the fact that federal guidelines do not apply to privately funded research (except for drug and device applications to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)), thus creating a two-tiered system of human subject research standards and safeguards. The often highly complex and technical nature of biomedical research and medical treatment of human subjects also impedes understanding of the ethical implications of rapidly advancing fields.

Specific Goals Are To:

1. Raise public awareness of human rights violations in research via publications and a web site.
2. Enlist public support to eliminate unethical research involving human subjects.
3. Work with public agencies to ensure that adequate safeguards are provided to human research subjects whether vulnerable or not under existing federal guidelines.
4. Work to improve human subject protection where federal guidelines may not be adequate.
5. Work to ensure that research organizations, both public and private, are fully accountable for their investigative procedures and treatment of subjects and that unfavorable data are not withheld from public scrutiny.
6. Work to ensure that no coercive conditions are established when human subjects are recruited for a study such as:
   1. Exploiting altruistic motives for participating in the research
   2. Offers of financial or medical benefits to the subjects
   3. Persuasion through potential direct medical benefits from the experimental treatment.
7. Work to ensure that research organizations provide fully comprehensible and honest representation of their research protocols and potential health effects on their research subjects, and that the subjects (or their proxies) sign a consent form to participate in the research with a full understanding of the protocol.
8. Work to ensure that research organizations establish fully and adequately staffed oversight committees (Institutional Review Boards) to safeguard the rights and interests of the research subjects.

© CIRCARE Incorporated (2002 - ). Revised 2005-11-21.

top

Last Updated: 2012-05-16

If you find the information on this page helpful please support CIRCARE with a tax-deductible contribution today. Because CIRCARE doesn't accept funds from pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers, we depend on contributions from individuals like you to help us advocate for meaningful protection of human subjects in research. Donating online with PayPal is quick and easy. Find out more on our Support Page

---