[Responsibilities of ethics committees]

Increasing numbers of clinical research projects are submitted to ethical committees (institutional review boards) for approval. New therapeutic developments have to be evaluated by these committees to protect patients/volunteers. Thus, the responsibility of ethical committees is increasing. The "Nürnberger Kodex" and the "Declaration of Helsinki" are the background for these evaluations. According to the German drug law the physician is obligated by law to submit the protocol to such a committee. In addition, local state physician authorities require such a procedure. Important considerations during the review process besides ethical aspects are the informed consent, which should be written in an understandable form, and the obligations of the insurance.