Committee finder

With this tool you’ll find the committees, competent authorities and other organizations involved in the legal review of your clinical research proposal in the Netherlands.

Before you can start a clinical trial in the Netherlands, your protocol must be approved by an accredited Medical Research Ethics Committee (MREC), or in some cases the Dutch Central Committee on Research Involving Human subjects (CCMO).

If your clinical trial involves medical products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), you will also need to obtain a permit from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Does this sound complicated? Don’t worry; we can help. Working together with the CCMO, we developed our Committee Finder tool to help you to find a suitable committee or organization to review your clinical trial application.

The tutorial explains the basic functionalities of the tool. Read more below about how this tool can help with the development of new medical interventions and about the blended course Clinical Research in the Netherlands - Legislation & Procedures.

Why did we develop this tool?

The regulations for clinical research are extensive and complex. Depending on the type of research, product and target group various committees, competent authorities and other organisations are involved in the review of the clinical research proposal. By using this tool investigators, Clinical Research Associates and researchers at companies can easily find out where they need to submit their proposal to get approval for their clinical research.

The tool is part of Paul Janssen Futurelab’s free online course ‘Clinical Research in the Netherlands – Legislation & Procedures’. The themes for the online course are developed in collaboration with the Central Committee Involving Human Subjects (CCMO) and is in part based on the Dutch e-learning site Onderzoekswijs.nl. As of December 31, 2019 the CCMO has closed the e-learning site Onderzoekswijs.nl. Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden is solely responsible for the tool and the course content.

Why is this tool special?

Using this versatile tool you can find easily the committees, competent authorities and other organisations involved in the review of your clinical research proposal and their legal review timelines.

Part of the course Clinical Research Regulation in the Netherlands

Before starting a medical research study, it is reviewed and approved by an authorized reviewing committee. Learn the practical steps to navigate the review system of clinical research. This course is specific for the Netherlands.

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