Overview of Medical Research Ethics Committee, National Research Centre of Egypt

Background: Globally, ethical issues in research are becoming of major importance, being well
established in developed countries with little information about research ethics committees (RECs) in
Africa. It is essential to promote the efficiency of the ethics review committee to protect participants
and guarantee the successful implementation of good clinical research.
Objective/aim: To describe the establishment, structure, function, operations and outcome of the
Medical Research Ethics Committee (MREC) of the National Research Center (NRC) of Egypt.
Methods: The committee established its regulatory rules for human and animal research ethics based
on the Declaration of Helsinki 2000–2008 and WHO regulations 2000–2011.
Results: There were 2532 protocols revised in 13 years (2005- 2018), with average of 195 protocols
reviewed annually. 88 workshops and training courses had been held in the NRC during the years
2006–2018 with total no of 2325 trainees.
Conclusion: Since 2005, the MREC in NRC Egypt has built up considerable experience of evaluating
the ethical issues arising within the field of medical research.