Sponsor is a term referring to a person only, unless:

• A. It is a testing facility that both initiates and actually conducts the study
• B. It is an employee of the sponsor
• C. It is a subcontractor
• D. It is a regulatory authority

Answer: (A)

In clinical research, the sponsor is the person or organization responsible for initiating, managing, and financing the trial. The statement is highlighting a specific situation: a testing facility that both initiates and actually conducts the study can take on sponsor responsibilities, effectively acting as the sponsor for that trial. This arrangement is often described as a sponsor-investigator role, where the facility itself assumes the duties of sponsorship because it starts the study and runs it to completion.

An employee of the sponsor does not become the sponsor by virtue of their employment; a subcontractor performs part of the work but does not bear the overall sponsorship responsibilities; and a regulatory authority does not sponsor trials.