Who is primarily responsible for summarizing safety data in the clinical report?

• A. Investigator only
• B. Sponsor or designee
• C. Regulatory authority
• D. Data monitoring committee only

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is who owns the responsibility for turning safety observations into the formal safety summary in a clinical study report. That job rests with the sponsor or a designee acting on the sponsor’s behalf. The sponsor has overall responsibility for the trial's conduct and for regulatory submissions, so they gather all safety data from investigators, analyze it, and integrate it into the CSR. This includes summarizing adverse events and serious adverse events, deaths, labs, and other safety endpoints across all treatment groups, and presenting the risk-benefit assessment. Investigators collect and report safety data, but the CSR’s safety summary is produced by the sponsor or someone the sponsor has contracted to do it. The regulatory authority reviews the CSR, and a Data Monitoring Committee monitors safety during the trial, but neither prepares the final safety summary in the CSR.