Chesapeake IRB Announces Acquisition of Institutional Biosafety Corporation

Columbia, Md., June 6, 2017 (Business Wire) –  Chesapeake IRB, the technology-enabled independent institutional review board (IRB) serving the clinical research industry, announced it has acquired Institutional Biosafety Corporation (IBC), a provider of institutional biosafety committee services located in Rockville, Md.

The acquisition of IBC expands Chesapeake’s services with the capability to provide comprehensive review and oversight of research utilizing recombinant or synthetic DNA molecules, including clinical trials involving genetic engineering and gene therapy.

“We are excited to partner with IBC to offer comprehensive biosafety support services that will further serve our customers conducting biological and biomedical clinical research trials,” said Jeff Wendel, president and CEO of Chesapeake. “Together with our market-leading IRB services, we now offer customers the ability to properly assess the biosafety precautions essential for mitigating risks to researchers and patients.”

“By utilizing the exceptional Chesapeake platform, Chesapeake’s IRB review process and IBC’s institutional biosafety committee services, we can offer the speed, efficiency and quality customers need to grow their research capacity and safeguard research participants,” said Gil Price, co-founder and CEO of Institutional Biosafety Corporation.

Federal regulations require institutions to have institutional biosafety committee oversight if they are conducting research involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules (r/sNA) and are funded by the National Institutes of Health or taking place at sites that receive NIH funding. Many privately sponsored studies voluntarily utilize institutional biosafety committee services due to their interest in seeking NIH funding, other third-party regulatory requirements, or for enhanced research safety oversight.

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 has offices across the United States and a wholly owned subsidiary, IRB Services, with offices in Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Visit chesapeakeirb.com for more information.