Pfizer is the first pharmaceutical company to be accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs. Pfizer (and its phase I clinical research units) was among 16 organizations to receive accreditation this quarter, bringing the total number of AAHRPP-accredited organizations to 175.

“Pfizer is proud to be the first pharmaceutical or biotech company to obtain AAHRPP accreditation and take our place alongside some of the best universities and hospitals that are also AAHRPP-accredited,” said Pfizer chairman and CEO Jeffrey Kindler in a company statement. “Accreditation is part of Pfizer’s ongoing efforts to demonstrate our commitment to integrity and increased transparency in research and operations.”

In addition to earning accreditation for its clinical research units, located in Connecticut, Belgium and Singapore, Pfizer will use only AAHRPP-accredited central institutional review boards.

AAHRPP, a non-profit organization that offers accreditation to organizations that conduct or review research with humans, has accredited 175 organizations representing more than 830 entities.

The list of organizations that received full accreditation most recently includes Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, N.Y.; Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, Ala.; Duke Medicine, Durham, N.C.; James H. Quillen VA Medical Center, Mountain Home, Tenn.; Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pa.; Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital and Newport Hospital as part of Lifespan, Providence, R.I.; Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minn.; Nemours, Jacksonville, Fla.; Pfizer Clinical Research Units, New Haven, Conn., Brussels, Belgium, and  Singapore; RCRC Independent Review Board, Austin, Texas; San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, Calif.; St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Medical Center, St. Cloud, Minn.; University of California, Riverside, Riverside, Calif.; Utah State University, Logan, Utah.

Kansas City Veterans Administration Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., and White River Junction, VT, Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., received qualified accreditation. which means the facilities met AAHRPP standards with only a few minor deficiencies in administrative processes, not involving patient care.