Investigation spotlights rise of for-profit ethics boards in research

A government watchdog called for greater federal oversight of ethics boards that sign off on scientific studies, finding that for-profit companies have taken an outsize role in approving certain research and questioning whether financial motivations could put human subjects at risk.

Federal regulations require that certain research on human subjects — including those testing the safety of new drugs — first get approval from a registered institutional research board. These boards, which are made up of at least five members and can include researchers and academics, are designed to make sure that a study poses as little risk as possible and that participants have enough information to give consent.