The WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG), the world's largest provider of regulatory and ethical review services for clinical research, announced that two independent review boards (IRBs) – Aspire IRB and Midlands IRB – have joined the Group. Located near to San Diego, California and Kansas City, Missouri, respectively, these companies expand WCG’s presence in two major clinical research hubs. The addition of Midlands IRB and Aspire IRB also increases the Group’s expertise in early phase (I & II) reviews.

WCG’s chairman and CEO Donald A Deieso, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Midlands and Aspire to our family; these two high quality organizations bring with them exceptional people, outstanding regulatory and compliance records, and strong client relationships. Both Midlands and Aspire will continue to operate independently and will retain their leadership, personnel, and brands. We look forward to providing both organizations with expanded access to leading technology, capital, and corporate support which will assure that they continue to deliver superior services to their clients.”

As members of the WCG family, Midlands IRB and Aspire IRB will have access to WCG’s significant resources, including state-of-the-art technology, industry-leading advisory panels, and rigorous quality management and compliance programmes.

“We are thrilled to bring to bear all of the resources of the WIRB-Copernicus Group to ensure the highest standards of human subject protection for our clients,” said Michele R Baptista, CIP, president of Aspire IRB. “Not only will we continue to provide the hands-on, personalized interaction that our clients have come to expect – and is so necessary in Early Phase research – but we will also be able to offer them more advanced technologies and services to facilitate the optimization of late phase (III & IV) research, such as electronic informed consent, learning management and accelerated study start-up solutions.”

Midlands IRB and Aspire IRB join Western IRB (WIRB), Copernicus Group IRB, and IRBNet as members of the WCG family of companies, which now includes 12 individual AAHRPP-accredited panels, three of which are focused on the review of oncology research.

Financial details about the transactions were not disclosed.