The Privatization of Human Research Ethics: An American Story

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a remarkable shift in the governance of human research ethics in the United States. A model once based on review by panels of local volunteers has given way to a system dominated by large, for-profit research ethics committees. America’s reliance on for-profit ethics review is unique among wealthy industrialized countries. How can we account for this anomaly? In this article, I show that for-profit irb s represent only the most visible aspect of the privatization of human research protections in the United States. I suggest that private institutions have emerged as “workaround” solutions to systemic problems, in the absence of comprehensive policy reforms.