Rights and obligations of the Investigator
The main responsibilities of the Investigator are described in detail in section 4 of Appendix 1 to Bulgarian Ordinance 31 for establishing the rules for Good Clinical Practice and chapter 4 of ICH GCP Guideline. Below you may read the summary of the main responsibilities.
1.Investigator’s Qualifications
• The investigator(s) should be qualified by education, training, and experience to assume responsibility for the proper conduct of the trial, should meet all the qualifications specified by the applicable regulatory requirement(s), and should provide evidence of such qualifications through up-to-date curriculum vitae and/or other relevant documentation requested by the sponsor, the Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials and the Bulgarian Drug Agency.
• The investigator should be thoroughly familiar with the appropriate use of the investigational product(s), as described in the protocol, in the current Investigator’s Brochure, in the product information and in other information sources provided by the sponsor.
• The investigator should be aware of, and should comply with, GCP and the applicable regulatory requirements.
• The investigator should permit monitoring and auditing by the sponsor, and inspection by the appropriate regulatory authority(ies).
• The investigator should maintain a list of appropriately qualified persons to whom the investigator has delegated significant trial-related duties.
2. Adequate Resources
• The investigator should be able to demonstrate (e.g., based on retrospective data) a potential for recruiting the required number of suitable subjects within the agreed recruitment period.
• The investigator should have sufficient time to properly conduct and complete the trial within the agreed trial period.
• The investigator should have available an adequate number of qualified staff and adequate facilities for the foreseen duration of the trial to conduct the trial properly and safely.
• The investigator should ensure that all persons assisting with the trial are adequately informed about the protocol, the investigational product(s), and their trial-related duties and functions.
• The investigator is responsible for supervising any individual or party to whom the investigator delegates trial-related duties and functions conducted at the trial site.
3. Medical Care of Trial Subjects
• A qualified physician (or dentist, when appropriate), who is an investigator or a sub-investigator for the trial, should be responsible for all trial-related medical (or dental) decisions.
• During and following a subject's participation in a trial, the investigator/institution should ensure that adequate medical care is provided to a subject for any adverse events, including clinically significant laboratory values, related to the trial.
• It is recommended that the investigator inform the subject's primary physician about the subject's participation in the trial if the subject has a primary physician and if the subject agrees to the primary physician being informed.
4.Compliance with Protocol
• The investigator should conduct the trial in compliance with the protocol agreed to by the sponsor and, if required, by the regulatory authority(ies) and which was given approval/favourable opinion by theIRB/IEC. The investigator should sign the protocol to confirm agreement.
• The investigator should not implement any deviation from, or changes of the protocol without agreement by the sponsor and prior review and documented approval/favourable opinion from the IRB/IEC of an amendment, except where necessary to eliminate an immediate hazard(s) to trial subjects.
• The investigator, or person designated by the investigator, should document and explain any deviation from the approved protocol.
5. Investigational Product(s)
• Responsibility for investigational product(s) accountability at the trial site(s) rests with the investigator. Where required, the investigator should assign some or all of the investigator's duties for investigational product(s) accountability at the trial site(s) to an appropriate pharmacist or another appropriate individual who is under the supervision of the investigator.
• The investigator and/or a pharmacist or other appropriate individual, who is designated by the investigator, should maintain records of the product's delivery to the trial site, the inventory at the site, the use by each subject, and the return to the sponsor or alternative disposition of unused product(s). These records should include dates, quantities, batch/serial numbers, expiration dates (if applicable), and the unique code numbers assigned to the investigational product(s) and trial subjects.
• The investigational product(s) should be stored as specified by the sponsor and in accordance with applicable regulatory requirement(s).
• The investigator should ensure that the investigational product(s) are used only in accordance with the approved protocol.
• The investigator, or a person designated by the investigator/institution, should explain the correct use of the investigational product(s) to each subject and should check, at intervals appropriate for the trial, that each subject is following the instructions properly.
• The investigator should follow the trial's randomization procedures, if any, and should ensure that the code is broken only in accordance with the protocol. If the trial is blinded, the investigator should promptly document and explain to the sponsor any premature unblinding (e.g., accidental unblinding, unblinding due to a serious adverse event) of the investigational product(s).
6. Informed Consent of Trial Subjects
• In obtaining and documenting informed consent, the investigator should comply with the applicable regulatory requirement(s), and should adhere to GCP and to the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior to the beginning of the trial, the investigator should have the IRB/IEC's written approval/favourable opinion of the written informed consent form and any other written information to be provided to subjects.
• The written informed consent form and any other written information to be provided to subjects should be revised whenever important new information becomes available that may be relevant to the subject’s consent. Any revised written informed consent form, and written information should receive the IRB/IEC's approval/favourable opinion in advance of use.
• Neither the investigator, nor the trial staff, should coerce or unduly influence a subject to participate or to continue to participate in a trial.
• The investigator, or a person designated by the investigator, should fully inform the subject or, if the subject is unable to provide informed consent, the subject's legally acceptable representative, of all pertinent aspects of the trial including the written information and the approval/ favourable opinion by the IRB/IEC. The language used in the oral and written information about the trial, including the written informed consent form, should be as non-technical as practical and should be understandable.
• Before informed consent may be obtained, the investigator should provide the subject or the subject's legally acceptable representative ample time and opportunity to inquire about details of the trial and to decide whether or not to participate in the trial. All questions about the trial should be answered to the satisfaction of the subject or the subject's legally acceptable representative.
• Prior to a subject’s participation in the trial, the written informed consent form should be signed and personally dated by the subject or by the subject's legally acceptable representative, and by the person who conducted the informed consent discussion.
• Prior to participation in the trial, the subject or the subject's legally acceptable representative should receive a copy of the signed and dated written informed consent form and any other written information provided to the subjects.
• During a subject’s participation in the trial, the subject or the subject’s legally acceptable representative should receive a copy of the signed and dated consent form updates and a copy of any amendments to the written information provided to subjects.
7. Medical Records
• The investigator should ensure the accuracy, completeness, legibility, and timeliness of the data reported to the sponsor in the CRFs and in all required reports.
• Data reported on the CRF, that are derived from source documents, should be consistent with the source documents or the discrepancies should be explained. Any change or correction to a CRF should be dated, initialed, and explained.
• The investigator/institution should maintain the trial documents as specified in Essential Documents for the Conduct of a Clinical Trial and as required by the applicable regulatory requirements. Essential documents should be retained until at least 2 years after the last approval of a marketing application in an ICH region and until there are no pending or contemplated marketing applications in an ICH region or at least 2 years have elapsed since the formal discontinuation of clinical development of the investigational product. These documents should be retained for a longer period however if required by the applicable regulatory requirements or by an agreement with the sponsor.
• Upon request of the monitor, auditor, IRB/IEC, or regulatory authority, the investigator/institution should make available for direct access all requested trial-related records.
8. Safety Reporting
• All serious adverse events (SAEs) should be reported immediately to the sponsor except for those SAEs that the protocol or other document (e.g., Investigator's Brochure) identifies as not needing immediate reporting. The immediate reports should be followed promptly by detailed, written reports. The immediate and follow-up reports should identify subjects by unique code numbers assigned to the trial subjects rather than by the subjects' names, personal identification numbers, and/or addresses.
• Adverse events and/or laboratory abnormalities identified in the protocol as critical to safety evaluations should be reported to the sponsor according to the reporting requirements and within the time periods specified by the sponsor in the protocol. The attributes of all AEs are start and stop date, sign or diagnosis, severity, relationship with investigational product, treatment given.
1.Investigator’s Qualifications
• The investigator(s) should be qualified by education, training, and experience to assume responsibility for the proper conduct of the trial, should meet all the qualifications specified by the applicable regulatory requirement(s), and should provide evidence of such qualifications through up-to-date curriculum vitae and/or other relevant documentation requested by the sponsor, the Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials and the Bulgarian Drug Agency.
• The investigator should be thoroughly familiar with the appropriate use of the investigational product(s), as described in the protocol, in the current Investigator’s Brochure, in the product information and in other information sources provided by the sponsor.
• The investigator should be aware of, and should comply with, GCP and the applicable regulatory requirements.
• The investigator should permit monitoring and auditing by the sponsor, and inspection by the appropriate regulatory authority(ies).
• The investigator should maintain a list of appropriately qualified persons to whom the investigator has delegated significant trial-related duties.
2. Adequate Resources
• The investigator should be able to demonstrate (e.g., based on retrospective data) a potential for recruiting the required number of suitable subjects within the agreed recruitment period.
• The investigator should have sufficient time to properly conduct and complete the trial within the agreed trial period.
• The investigator should have available an adequate number of qualified staff and adequate facilities for the foreseen duration of the trial to conduct the trial properly and safely.
• The investigator should ensure that all persons assisting with the trial are adequately informed about the protocol, the investigational product(s), and their trial-related duties and functions.
• The investigator is responsible for supervising any individual or party to whom the investigator delegates trial-related duties and functions conducted at the trial site.
3. Medical Care of Trial Subjects
• A qualified physician (or dentist, when appropriate), who is an investigator or a sub-investigator for the trial, should be responsible for all trial-related medical (or dental) decisions.
• During and following a subject's participation in a trial, the investigator/institution should ensure that adequate medical care is provided to a subject for any adverse events, including clinically significant laboratory values, related to the trial.
• It is recommended that the investigator inform the subject's primary physician about the subject's participation in the trial if the subject has a primary physician and if the subject agrees to the primary physician being informed.
4.Compliance with Protocol
• The investigator should conduct the trial in compliance with the protocol agreed to by the sponsor and, if required, by the regulatory authority(ies) and which was given approval/favourable opinion by theIRB/IEC. The investigator should sign the protocol to confirm agreement.
• The investigator should not implement any deviation from, or changes of the protocol without agreement by the sponsor and prior review and documented approval/favourable opinion from the IRB/IEC of an amendment, except where necessary to eliminate an immediate hazard(s) to trial subjects.
• The investigator, or person designated by the investigator, should document and explain any deviation from the approved protocol.
5. Investigational Product(s)
• Responsibility for investigational product(s) accountability at the trial site(s) rests with the investigator. Where required, the investigator should assign some or all of the investigator's duties for investigational product(s) accountability at the trial site(s) to an appropriate pharmacist or another appropriate individual who is under the supervision of the investigator.
• The investigator and/or a pharmacist or other appropriate individual, who is designated by the investigator, should maintain records of the product's delivery to the trial site, the inventory at the site, the use by each subject, and the return to the sponsor or alternative disposition of unused product(s). These records should include dates, quantities, batch/serial numbers, expiration dates (if applicable), and the unique code numbers assigned to the investigational product(s) and trial subjects.
• The investigational product(s) should be stored as specified by the sponsor and in accordance with applicable regulatory requirement(s).
• The investigator should ensure that the investigational product(s) are used only in accordance with the approved protocol.
• The investigator, or a person designated by the investigator/institution, should explain the correct use of the investigational product(s) to each subject and should check, at intervals appropriate for the trial, that each subject is following the instructions properly.
• The investigator should follow the trial's randomization procedures, if any, and should ensure that the code is broken only in accordance with the protocol. If the trial is blinded, the investigator should promptly document and explain to the sponsor any premature unblinding (e.g., accidental unblinding, unblinding due to a serious adverse event) of the investigational product(s).
6. Informed Consent of Trial Subjects
• In obtaining and documenting informed consent, the investigator should comply with the applicable regulatory requirement(s), and should adhere to GCP and to the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior to the beginning of the trial, the investigator should have the IRB/IEC's written approval/favourable opinion of the written informed consent form and any other written information to be provided to subjects.
• The written informed consent form and any other written information to be provided to subjects should be revised whenever important new information becomes available that may be relevant to the subject’s consent. Any revised written informed consent form, and written information should receive the IRB/IEC's approval/favourable opinion in advance of use.
• Neither the investigator, nor the trial staff, should coerce or unduly influence a subject to participate or to continue to participate in a trial.
• The investigator, or a person designated by the investigator, should fully inform the subject or, if the subject is unable to provide informed consent, the subject's legally acceptable representative, of all pertinent aspects of the trial including the written information and the approval/ favourable opinion by the IRB/IEC. The language used in the oral and written information about the trial, including the written informed consent form, should be as non-technical as practical and should be understandable.
• Before informed consent may be obtained, the investigator should provide the subject or the subject's legally acceptable representative ample time and opportunity to inquire about details of the trial and to decide whether or not to participate in the trial. All questions about the trial should be answered to the satisfaction of the subject or the subject's legally acceptable representative.
• Prior to a subject’s participation in the trial, the written informed consent form should be signed and personally dated by the subject or by the subject's legally acceptable representative, and by the person who conducted the informed consent discussion.
• Prior to participation in the trial, the subject or the subject's legally acceptable representative should receive a copy of the signed and dated written informed consent form and any other written information provided to the subjects.
• During a subject’s participation in the trial, the subject or the subject’s legally acceptable representative should receive a copy of the signed and dated consent form updates and a copy of any amendments to the written information provided to subjects.
7. Medical Records
• The investigator should ensure the accuracy, completeness, legibility, and timeliness of the data reported to the sponsor in the CRFs and in all required reports.
• Data reported on the CRF, that are derived from source documents, should be consistent with the source documents or the discrepancies should be explained. Any change or correction to a CRF should be dated, initialed, and explained.
• The investigator/institution should maintain the trial documents as specified in Essential Documents for the Conduct of a Clinical Trial and as required by the applicable regulatory requirements. Essential documents should be retained until at least 2 years after the last approval of a marketing application in an ICH region and until there are no pending or contemplated marketing applications in an ICH region or at least 2 years have elapsed since the formal discontinuation of clinical development of the investigational product. These documents should be retained for a longer period however if required by the applicable regulatory requirements or by an agreement with the sponsor.
• Upon request of the monitor, auditor, IRB/IEC, or regulatory authority, the investigator/institution should make available for direct access all requested trial-related records.
8. Safety Reporting
• All serious adverse events (SAEs) should be reported immediately to the sponsor except for those SAEs that the protocol or other document (e.g., Investigator's Brochure) identifies as not needing immediate reporting. The immediate reports should be followed promptly by detailed, written reports. The immediate and follow-up reports should identify subjects by unique code numbers assigned to the trial subjects rather than by the subjects' names, personal identification numbers, and/or addresses.
• Adverse events and/or laboratory abnormalities identified in the protocol as critical to safety evaluations should be reported to the sponsor according to the reporting requirements and within the time periods specified by the sponsor in the protocol. The attributes of all AEs are start and stop date, sign or diagnosis, severity, relationship with investigational product, treatment given.