Recruiting Minorities to Clinical Trials

Conference Correspondent

During the October 30 webcast of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) 10th Annual Summit, Maurie Markman, MD, President of Medicine & Science and Chief Clinical Officer at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and co-moderator of the session, said that COVID-19 disproportionately affects the elderly, individuals with comorbidities, and minority populations, all of whom are more likely to experience serious illness and death.

Tamar Thompson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Chairman of the Board for Alexion Charitable Foundation, noted that the historic mistrust between minority populations and the medical field is deeply rooted. Social determinants of health are directly linked to systemic racism, and progress regarding health disparities cannot be made until the issue of trust is confronted.

Mistrust leads to underrepresentation of minorities in clinical trials. According to Barbara Bierer, MD, Faculty Director of the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, when studies have been conducted to determine whether individuals who are asked to participate in clinical trials actually do participate, the rate at which brown and black patients say “yes” is the same as the rate at which white people say “yes.” The problem is—minorities aren’t being asked.

“The proportion of minorities in clinical trials to the proportion that is represented by the disease itself is not a small statistical difference; it’s a huge difference,” said Barry Fortner, PhD, Former President, Specialty Physician Services, AmerisourceBergen, and co-moderator of the WEBcast.

Andy Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Clinical Trial Operations at Merck Research Labs, agreed that there is still a lot that needs to be done. Mr Lee explained that he is working toward a more inclusive future for clinical trials by mandating diversity training for his team and requiring the trials that he works on have a strategic plan to include underrepresented populations. Some of the work he does involves providing tools and resources to his team to help achieve those objectives.

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