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Medscape Medical Affairs is Advancing Equity in Clinical Trials

September 5, 2023 |  

- PMLiVE

Clinical trials are not just a necessary step in bringing a new drug or device to market, but a crucial investment on the part of the developing company. By 2025, it is estimated that over $68.9 billion globally will be spent on clinical trials.1 While all of these trials represent a significant investment, many of them are facing challenges in recruitment, retention and equity.

In the United States, the National Institutes of Health reported in 2020 that as many as 80% of clinical trials fail to enroll on time, and even those that do successfully recruit may face issues with both maintaining their patient population throughout the length of the trial and, alarmingly, recruiting a diverse population that represents marginalized or underrepresented communities.2

In 2019, the World Health Organization delivered a report on health equity in European countries, identifying 5 conditions that contribute to health equity. These conditions include access to health and health services, health and income security and social protections, health and living conditions, health and social and human capital, and health and employment and working conditions.3 These conditions can make it difficult to increase diversity in clinical trials, and can increase already existing inequities.

In the United States, although minority populations represent ~41% of the US population, only 25% of clinical trial participants were from minority populations in 2020. Some obstacles that have been identified in recruiting a diverse patient population include mistrust in medical research, access to resources, limited healthcare literacy, lack of access to transportation, language barriers, low income, cultural differences, discrimination, and bias.4 These challenges can lead to significant health disparities for minority communities, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality.

Medscape Medical Affairs seeks to help clients recruit a larger patient population, as well as a more diverse one, by making information more readily available. Clinical Trial Central can reach your target physician population by accessing our vast membership of 6.5+ million physicians worldwide with a Clinical Trial Central webinar where key study information can be shared to help in identifying appropriate patients for study enrollment. In addition, a dedicated landing page hosts downloadable “quick study facts,” a chat function, and Q&A with the Study PI or Chief Medical Officer. By delivering the content on demand, the right clinicians can access what they need to know in order
to introduce their diverse patient population to the study. Clinical Trial Central offers a guaranteed number of target specialty study viewers.

“Medscape Medical Affairs can help provide the recruitment tools needed for better, more stable, and more diverse study recruitment,” said Christina Hoffman, Global Head, Medscape Medical Affairs. “By making studies more equitable, we’re working toward better outcomes for patients around the world”.

Medscape Medical Affairs Can Help You to Advance Equity and Participation in Clinical Trials

For more information on Clinical Trial Central, please contact your Medscape Medical Affairs representative or visit us at www.medscapemedaffairs.com

1 May M. Clinical trials costs go under the microscope. Nat Med. 2019; (06 March 2019). Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41591-019-00008-7 2 NIH global data analysis of all terminated trials within Clinical Trials Database, May 2020. 3 World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European Health Equity Status Report. December 19, 2019. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/326879 4 MacLennan DL, et al. Clinical trial site perspectives and practices on study participant diversity and inclusion. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2023;113:670-679.

This content was provided by Medscape Medical Affairs

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