The delegation from National Health Commission, led by Liu Dengfeng, Ombudsman of Science and Education Bureau, Wang Jinqian, Director of Technology Department of Science and Education Bureau and Cadre Yang Chunmei, visited SECCR, and got an overview of the establishment of the committee. In addition, Zhan Kan, Director of Science and Education Bureau of SMCHFP and Linyun accompanied the delegation. At the same time, Professor Hu Qingli, Director of SECCR, Chen Pei, Vice Director of SECCR, SECCR members Shen Mingxian, Hu Jinhong, Xi Yiqun and Director Gan Rongxing and Vice Director Gao Chanqin of SCRC attended the visit.

        This visit aimed to know about the establishment of regional ethics committee in Shanghai and the advice and suggestions in the respect of multi-center review. Vice Director Chen Pei reported to the NHC delegation on the establishment of SECCR, including organizational framework of the committee, operational procedures, ethic review and training that had been undertaken, conclusion of the establishment experience, and issues that need discussing. Based on the status quo of SECCR establishment, Director Hu Qingli expressed his advice and suggestions. According to him, the establishment of SECCR was attributed to the support of the clinical center, from which all the members and experts were independent. Since it could avoid the impact of conflict of interest upon ethic review, it was highly operable. He believed that regional ethics committee and institutional ethics committee shall be complementary with each other, and hoped the government could clearly specify the demarcation about the relationship between the regional ethics committee and institutional ethics committee. In addition, Gan Rongxing introduced to the visitors the basic situation and establishment of SCRC.

        Then the visiting group and the experts discussed important issues, including the existing problems in domestic studies on stem cells, multi-center coordinated review model, and working mechanism of review tracking, and service coverage, duties, responsibilities and management of regional ethics committee. In addition, the visiting group also visited the computer room of information and data that had passed ISO27001 certification.

        In the end, the visiting group put forward that the establishment of regional ethics committee shall start from the formulation of the relevant documents and that the purpose of this visit was to implement the Suggestions for Deepening Reform of the Review and Approval System and Encouraging Innovation of Drug and Medical Apparatus and Devices, issued in October 2017, and to impel the modification of  Measures for Ethic Review of Human-related Biomedicine Research (2016 edition) and improve as soon as possible the management system of ethics committee, including regional ethics committee.