Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine NEWS

The International Workshop of Ethics Review and Clinical Trial Transparency was held in Chengdu on 28-30 June 2009. This workshop was sponsored by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of China, authorized by the World Health Organizer (WHO) Research Ethics Review Committee, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), and the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice. It was organized by the Chinese Cochrane Centre (ChiCC), the Chinese Evidence-Based Medicine Center (CEBMC) and the Chinese Clinical Trial Register (ChiCTR) of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. This workshop aimed to improve the review system for research ethics, comprehensively implement ‘Ethical Review of Biomedical Research involving Human Subjects (trial implementation)’, push clinical trial transparency, and cultivate qualified professional personnel for ethical review of medical universities and large hospitals.

Professor Youping Li (Fig. 1), Director of ChiCC, CEMBC and ChiCTR, chaired the opening ceremony. Professor Hong Bu (Fig. 2), Vice President of Sichuan University, Professor Qingli Hu (Fig. 3), Pre Deputy Director-General of the WHO and member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO, and Professor Shaolin Deng (Fig. 4), Associate Dean of West China Hospital, were invited to give speeches in the opening ceremony. Jinqian Wang (Fig. 5), Director of the Department of Science, Technology & Education of the MOH of China, Dr Abha Saxena (Fig. 6), Secretary of the WHO Research Ethics Review Committee, Associate Professor Beatrice Loffelholz (Fig. 7), member of WHO Research Ethics Review Committee, Dr Davina Ghersi (Fig. 8), Coordinator of the WHO ICTRP, and Dr Francis P. Crawley (Fig. 9), Secretary General of the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice were invited to give lectures on topics including: the policy of ethics review system in China; why should we care about research ethics?; the purpose and process of formal ethical review; the context of research; and advances of clinical trial registration and the WHO ICTRP.

In addition to the lectures, case analyses were also used for teaching. One-hundred and one trainees from 28 affiliated university hospitals and leading hospitals of China took part in this workshop. This workshop hoped to advance the development of Chinese research ethics review.