Agency overview | |
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Formed | June 2000[1] |
Preceding agency |
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Headquarters | 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 200 Rockville, MD 20852[1] |
Parent department | United States Department of Health and Human Services[1] |
Website | https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/ |
The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) is a small office within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), specifically the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Office of the Secretary of DHHS, that deals with ethical oversights in clinical research conducted by the department, mostly through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).[2]
The office's primary duty is the implementation of 45 CFR 46, a set of regulations for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) that mirrors the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation that covers clinical research conducted by pharmaceutical companies as well as other regulations under the guidance of the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, which is also known as the "Common Rule".[3]
Institutions that conduct DHHS-sponsored research must have a "Federal-Wide Assurance" (FWA), an agreement with OHRP regarding ethical oversight. OHRP also provides education for IRBs, gives guidance on research ethics, and advises the HHS Secretary on issues of medical ethics.[2]