Office of Human Research Ethics SOP 0801: Institution, Investigator, or Sponsor-Initiated Holds

Title

Office of Human Research Ethics SOP 0801: Institution, Investigator, or Sponsor-Initiated Holds

1. Purpose

An “Institutional-, investigator- or sponsor-initiated hold” refers to a voluntary action by the institution, investigator or sponsor of the study to place some or all research activities associated with that study on hold. Institutional, investigator or sponsor holds may be the result of interim data analysis, inadequate drug availability, response to a DSMB report/recommendation, pre-planned stopping point or other information.

An institutional-, investigator-, or sponsor-initiated hold is not a suspension or termination of IRB approval; therefore a study placed on “hold” is

  • subject to continuing review by the IRB; and
  • not subject to reporting requirements as defined in SOP 1402, IRB Review of Promptly Reportable Information.

An institutional, investigator or sponsor hold should be reported to the IRB as promptly reportable information in accordance with SOP 1401, Promptly Reportable Information if the hold is a result of safety concerns. All other institutional, investigator or sponsor holds should be submitted as modifications to previously approved research.

2. Procedures

  1. The submission should include the following information:
    1. Describe the basis for the hold.
    2. Describe the research activities that will be halted. Research activities may include but are not limited to recruitment, screening/enrollment, research intervention/interaction, and follow-up.
    3. If applicable, describe actions implemented prior to submission, in order to eliminate apparent immediate harm to subjects.
    4. Provide a plan for how to notify research participants of the hold.
    5. Describe conditions that must be satisfied in order to lift the hold.
  2. A Chair or the Safety Welfare Analysis Committee (SWAG) will review the institutional-, investigator-, or sponsor-initiated hold and may do any of the following:
    1. Approve the hold;
    2. Request additional changes or information;
    3. Refer the study for review by the convened IRB; and/or
    4. Suspend IRB approval and refer the study for review by the convened IRB.
  3. When a study or a part of a study is placed on hold by the institution, the investigator or the sponsor may not resume until the investigator submits and the IRB approves a modification or a reportable safety information follow-up report to lift the hold. If, in addition to the hold, IRB approval is suspended, research activities may not resume until the processes outlined in SOP 1402, IRB Review of Promptly Reportable Information are followed.

Contact Information

Policy Contact

Name: Carley Emerson
Title:  Director 
Unit: Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE)
Email: carley_emerson@unc.edu

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Details

Article ID: 132224
Created
Thu 4/8/21 9:26 PM
Modified
Thu 6/27/24 4:24 PM
Responsible Unit
School, Department, or other organizational unit issuing this document.
Research-IRB and Human Research Ethics
Issuing Officer
Name of the document Issuing Officer. This is the individual whose organizational authority covers the policy scope and who is primarily responsible for the policy.
Issuing Officer Title
Title of the person who is primarily responsible for issuing this policy.
Vice Chancellor
Policy Contact
Person who handles document management. Best person to contact for information about this policy. In many cases this is not the Issuing Officer. It may be the Policy Liaison, or another staff member.
Next Review
Date on which the next document review is due.
07/01/2025 12:00 AM
Last Review
Date on which the most recent document review was completed.
06/28/2022 12:00 AM
Last Revised
Date on which the most recent changes to this document were approved.
06/28/2022 12:00 AM
Effective Date
If the date on which this document became/becomes enforceable differs from the Origination or Last Revision, this attribute reflects the date on which it is/was enforcable.
08/15/2022 12:00 AM
Origination
Date on which the original version of this document was first made official.
06/02/2017 12:00 AM
Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level
15.5