Chesapeake IRB and Schulman IRB Merge to Establish Premier Independent Institutional Review Board for Research

Columbia, Md., and Cincinnati, Ohio, November 7, 2017 (Business Wire)-Chesapeake IRB and Schulman IRB, research industry review boards (IRBs), have combined to create Advarra, the provider of IRB, institutional biosafety committee (IBC) and research compliance services in North America. The new organization will leverage mutual strengths in technology, regulatory expertise, and customer service to serve the increasingly complex needs associated with research.   “By coming together as Advarra, we are merging the highest quality review organizations in the industry,” said Jeffrey Wendel, president and CEO of Chesapeake IRB. “Through a customer-centric integration we will be able to provide additional scope and capacity while maintaining the highest standards of research review and unparalleled efficiency. We are delighted to come together with a like-minded organization that places the same emphasis on integrity and quality.”   “We are tremendously excited about this strategic combination that will allow us to further develop and accelerate innovation across our portfolio of IRB services, IBC services, and research compliance consulting,” said Michael Woods, president and CEO at Schulman IRB. “This also enables us to leverage our mutual technology capabilities and robust regulatory expertise to speed study start-up. Together, we are even better positioned to deliver unparalleled human subject protection and oversight with exceptional client service.”   The combined regulatory expertise and technology-enabled solutions of Chesapeake IRB and Schulman IRB will also further support and advance service offerings to academic medical centers and hospital systems, especially in light of recent regulatory mandates for single IRB review.   “By leveraging the best attributes of our respective organizations, we will provide a singular focus on increasing the efficiency and delivery of IRB services that will resonate with sponsors, CROs, and research institutions alike,” said Wendel.     About Chesapeake IRB
Chesapeake IRB, an AAHRPP-accredited company, provides independent IRB submission and review services to pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies, as well as academic medical centers and hospital systems. Its paperless, cloud-based submission and review platform, CIRBI, leads the field and has set the standard in review turnaround time, quality, and document accessibility. Headquartered in Columbia, MD, Chesapeake IRB also operates a wholly owned subsidiary, IRB Services, with offices in Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Visit ChesapeakeIRB.com for more information.   About Schulman IRB Schulman IRB, an AAHRPP-accredited company, has been a leader in the protection of human research participants in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada since 1983. Schulman IRB offers thorough, timely IRB review services-including dedicated review capabilities for all phases of research across all therapeutic areas-to clinical trial sponsors, CROs, investigators and institutions. Schulman IRB also provides global consulting services in clinical quality assurance and human research protections, and an institutional biosafety committee service. For more information, visit SchulmanIRB.com.