Schulman Associates Institutional Review Board, Inc

. announced the acquisition of Florida-based Independent Investigational Review Board, Inc. The transaction allows both organizations, which protect the rights of human research subjects, to provide a more comprehensive suite of review services for pharmaceutical, medical device, Contract Research Organization (CRO) and clinical research site customers.

"The strengths of the two organizations are remarkably complimentary," said Michael Woods, President and CEO of Schulman. "We are very excited by the added resources and capabilities Independent brings to the combined company."

With offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Plantation, Fl., the combined organization will aim to provide the highest level of quality research review services for a very broad range of therapeutic areas and types of human subject research. Separately, each organization is accredited by Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), and each has a clean recent audit history with Food and Drug Administration. Both organizations, in business more than 20 years, also enjoy strong reputations for performing thoughtful and rigorous reviews while providing the highest level of customer service available.

"Joining with Schulman allows Independent to provide the advantages of enhanced WebPortal and IT features to our established customer base," said Kim Lerner, outgoing CEO of Independent.