Residuals from Clinical Trials

Department of Medicine Policy on Residuals from Clinical Trials

Clinical trials should be closed on a timely basis. Upon the expiration and completion of the negotiated contract or clinical trial agreement, residual balances will be made available only after the following conditions are met:

  • All project deliverables have been provided, approved and accepted by the sponsor
  • All direct charges and project revenue are properly accounted for
  • All project payments have been received from the sponsor
  • All project closeout documents have been provided to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and the Office of Grants & Contracts
  • All F&A costs are recovered at the full published university rates in effect at the time of the award
  • The agreement does not require return of unexpended balances to the sponsor 

After the project has ended, the work completed, the deliverables met, and the sponsor does not require the return of remaining funds, the principal investigator (PI) is expected to close the trial and the research account. Any remaining funds will be transferred to a non-sponsored account and used to further the PI’s research.

It is imperative that PI salary representing his/her effort must be charged to the award. Large balances may require further justification.

Before distribution, residual balances will be applied toward deficit balances associated with the same principal investigator (PI). If the PI is no longer with the Department of Medicine, the residual balance will revert to the PI’s Division Director’s discretionary funds.

Funds from a residual research account should be used to support ongoing research projects and research-related activities. All expenditures must be consistent with policies and procedures established by MUSC.

The PI must submit a budget request in the March of each year anticipating the specific uses of any residual balances carrying over from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year. Upon the Division Director’s approval, the Division Administrator will include this budget request in the new fiscal year budget. These residuals funds are then considered a reserve and College of Medicine approval must be obtained before the funds can be utilized.

Effective date 1-13-2020