Overview of Medical Research Ethics Committee, National Research Centre of Egypt

Wafaa Abdel-Aal; Esmat Abdel Ghaffar; Osama El Shabrawy

Wafaa Abdel-Aal Department of Pathology, Medical Division, National Research Centre (NRC), Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
Esmat Abdel Ghaffar Department of Clinical Pathology, Medical Division, National Research Centre (NRC), Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
Osama El Shabrawy Department of Pharmacology, Medical Division, National Research Centre (NRC), Dokki, Giza, Egypt.

Keywords: Research ethics committee, protocol, clinical research, medical research

Abstract

Background: Globally, ethical issues in research are becoming of major importance, being well established in developed countries with little information about research ethics committees (RECs) in Africa. It is essential to promote the efficiency of the ethics review committee to protect participants and guarantee the successful implementation of good clinical research.

Objective/aim: To describe the establishment, structure, function, operations and outcome of the Medical Research Ethics Committee (MREC) of the National Research Center (NRC) of Egypt.

Methods: The committee established its regulatory rules for human and animal research ethics based on the Declaration of Helsinki 20002008 and WHO regulations 20002011.

Results: There were 2532 protocols revised in 13 years (2005- 2018), with average of 195 protocols reviewed annually. 88 workshops and training courses had been held in the NRC during the years 20062018 with total no of 2325 trainees.

Conclusion: Since 2005, the MREC in NRC Egypt has built up considerable experience of evaluating the ethical issues arising within the field of medical research.