The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has a legal duty to inform the public about human research.
For this purpose, it operates the HumRes website at www.humanresearch-switzerland.ch, where information on human research can be found. In addition, information on ongoing and completed clinical studies can be found using the Study search tool on the HumRes website.
In addition, each year, as part of its duty to inform the public, the FOPH publishes a summary of the annual reports of the seven Swiss research ethics committees. This is accompanied by a statistical report, showing the number and type of research projects authorised in Switzerland. The statistics are compiled by the FOPH in collaboration with the Swiss Association of Research Ethics Committees (swissethics). These reports are also published on the HumRes website.
Publications on HumRes are based on the following legal foundations:
Human Research Act (HRA)
Art. 1 Purpose
² It is also designed to:
c. ensure the transparency of research involving human beings.
Art. 55 Coordination and information
² Ethics committees shall report annually to the FOPH on their activities, in particular on the type and number of research projects assessed and on the processing periods.
³ The FOPH shall publish a list of ethics committees and inform the public regularly about their activities.
Clinical Trials Ordinance (ClinO)
Art. 67 Portal
¹ The FOPH shall operate a portal ensuring public access to information on clinical trials conducted in Switzerland via online access to one or more registries.