The portal for human research in Switzerland

kofam.ch is the Federal Office of Public Health’s (FOPH) portal for human research in Switzerland. On this website you’ll find extensive basic information on the regulation of human research in Switzerland as well as various tools for researchers.

News

Jul 2, 2024

Swissmedic reduces the fees for academic clinical trials

Since 1 July 2024, Sponsors of clinical trials with medicinal products, medical devices and novel therapies that are not financed by commercial third-party funding may apply for a fee reduction. Further information can be found on the Swissmedic website:

Medicinal products and ATMPs

Medical devices

Jun 7, 2024

Revision of the HRA ordinances

The Federal Council approved the amendments to the ordinances relating to the Human Research Act (HRA) and adopted them on 7 June 2024. The amendments strengthen the protection of persons participating in research and, where possible, improve the regulatory framework for researchers. The amended ordinances enter into force on 1 November 2024, with the exception of the provisions on transparency, which enter into force on 1 March 2025.

Further information can be found on the kofam website.

Jun 7, 2024

HRA Revision

On 7 June 2024, the Federal Council instructed the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) to revise the Human Research Act (HRA) and submit a draft act to it by the end of 2026. Further information can be found on the page «The regulation of human research in Switzerland».

Human research

Key points in a nutshell

A brief summary of the key points on human research in Switzerland

Applications & procedure

Requirement to obtain authorisation, categorisation and submission of applications

All information on the requirement to obtain authorisation, categorisation and submission of applications is available here:

SNCTP Portal

Search for studies

Search for registered clinical trials in Switzerland.

Categoriser

Online wizard for categorising human research projects

The categoriser provides help in assigning and categorising your research project according to the provisions of the Human Research Act – good preparation for the submission of your application!

Case studies

A selection of real human research projects

The case study module provides a selection of real human research projects, each with a brief summary. The projects can be filtered according to various criteria.