The WIRB-Copernicus Group Partners with UL Quality, Compliance and Learning to Power WCG Academy™ - a Revolutionary Online Clinical Learning Solution

PRINCETON, N.J., June 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG), the world's largest provider of regulatory and ethical review services for human research, announced today that it has partnered with UL Quality, Compliance and Learning (formerly EduNeering), the leader in technology-driven compliance learning solutions to bring unsurpassed educational opportunities to clinical research professionals. WCG Academy will provide industry, investigators, and other researchers a unique platform with focused, high-value education that is easily tracked across multiple studies. Using UL's cloud-based platform, ComplianceWire®, WCG Academy will provide clients effective online learning solutions aligned with their needs and with specific study protocols and requirements.  Through WCG Academy, powered by this partnership, the WIRB-Copernicus Group continues to expand its offered services to assist clients in streamlining and enriching the clinical research process.

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WCG Academy, a knowledge portal, will provide the most current clinical knowledge related to GCP and Research Ethics for human research, as well as laboratory animal welfare.  The online clinical library will include over 100 courses which are part of UL's extensive course offerings provided to ORA-U, the FDA's virtual university, under a unique partnership with FDA in place since 1999.   Additionally, WCG Academy provides site personnel training on FDA requirements, specific protocols, research updates, best clinical practices, and benchmarked performance.  Assuring continuity of understanding and competency among those who design, manage, and conduct clinical trials is a requisite to assuring that human subjects are protected and the scientific objectives of clinical research are satisfied.

Donald A. Deieso, Ph.D., Executive Chairman of the WIRB-Copernicus Group, will officially announce the creation of WCG Academy and the Company's partnership with UL on Monday, June 24, 2013, during the 49^th Annual Meeting of the Drug Information Association (DIA) in Boston, MA.   

"The WIRB-Copernicus Group's partnership with UL is in perfect alignment with our core values and vision for the industry," said Dr. Deieso. "If a trial is to succeed, those conducting it must possess the requisite knowledge. UL's ComplianceWire online technology and proprietary clinical courses provide a powerful set of knowledge solutions to assure our clients that any knowledge deficits among those conducting clinical trials are addressed immediately, and will not result in regulatory exposure, costly delays, and operational inefficiencies." 

The Academy adds a vital new dimension to the WIRB-Copernicus Group's network of investigators and institutions. WCG Academy will be accessible through a cloud-based technology, UL's ComplianceWire, and will increase the efficiency and reduce study start-up time for contract research organizations (CROs) and trial sponsors.  WCG Academy's courses use the latest in adult learning concepts including; video, voice instruction, and competency tests to assure knowledge comprehension and retention. 

"The WIRB-Copernicus Group is recognized as a global leader, providing cutting-edge solutions that improve the cost and efficiency of clinical trials," said Lynne Budnovitch, General Manager of UL Quality, Compliance and Learning. "We are pleased that the WIRB-Copernicus Group has chosen ComplianceWire as the training platform for WCG Academy, and feel this partnership will foster a transformation in clinical research by improving the quality of clinical trial conduct and ensuring human safety."

The WIRB-Copernicus Group includes Western Institutional Review Board (WIRB) and Copernicus Group IRB (CGIRB), the leading independent institutional review boards providing ethical oversight for clinical trials, and IRBNet, the top research compliance software solution serving institutions. The WIRB-Copernicus Group is the only ethical solutions provider capable of meeting the unique needs of institutions while supporting the speed and efficiency required by industry sponsors and CROs. With a comprehensive, streamlined review service that now includes Mytrus' e-consent, and a network of clients numbering in the thousands, the WIRB-Copernicus Group connects the world's leading sponsors and CROs with experienced research institutions to deliver new therapies and treatments to market with the highest degree of efficiency, quality and integrity.

About The WIRB-Copernicus Group
Transforming Ethical Review

The WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG) is the world's largest provider of regulatory and ethical review services for human research. With eight individual AAHRPP accredited panels, over 100 experienced board members, and over 60 years of combined experience in protocol and study-related review, the WIRB-Copernicus Group brings more expertise to the industry than any other ethical solutions provider.

Members of the WIRB-Copernicus Group family of companies include Western Institutional Review Board (WIRB) and Copernicus Group IRB (CGIRB), the nation's leading independent institutional review boards, and IRBNet, the top research compliance software supporting institutions. It is the mission of the WIRB-Copernicus Group to meet the highest standards of ethics and science, and to ensure the safety and welfare of research subjects worldwide. For more information, please visit www.wcgirb.com.

About UL Quality, Compliance and Learning

UL Quality, Compliance and Learning develops technology-driven solutions to help organizations mitigate risks, improve business performance and establish qualification and training programs through our proprietary, cloud-based platform, ComplianceWire®. Our solution was developed specifically for Life Science organizations and is used by the FDA to train and certify more than 35,000 investigators in the areas of quality and compliance.

For more than 30 years, UL Quality Compliance and Learning has served corporate and government customers in the Life Science, Health Care, Energy and Industrial sectors. Our global quality and compliance management approach integrates ComplianceWire, training content and advisory services, enabling clients to align learning strategies with their quality and compliance objectives. Our history comprises nearly one million learners, representing over 400 clients, in more than 50 countries. For more information, please visit www.ulqcl.com.

SOURCE WIRB-Copernicus Group