On 31 October 2025, the METC of Foundation BEBO in Assen and METC UMCG in Groningen formally began exploring a possible short-term collaboration between the two committees and a possible long-term integration. The letter of intent has been signed by both committees, as well as the Foundation BEBO and the Executive Board of the UMCG. This will investigate whether a strong regional committee (“hub”) can be set up in the northern Netherlands. In addition, this development contributes to the proposed centralisation of the Central Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (CCMO).

CCMO is looking for sponsors to participate in the pilot all-in-one procedure of the European COMBINE program. This program aims to address bottlenecks in combined studies for both sponsors and assessors.

During the pilot it is possible to submit a single application for a combined study in CTIS. Currently, this is only possible for studies with companion diagnostics (CTR/IVDR).

Sponsors can now sign up to participate in the pilot. It is not possible to register via CCMO. Applications can be submitted through the European Commission website: combine programme – European Commission

As of 01 January 2025, our METC will only assess research that is subject to the WMO and will no longer issue non-WMO statements.