Originally published on sanofi.us by Raolat Abdulai, MD, Clinical Research Director at Sanofi (No. 28 on the 2020 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list) I am an accidental hero. Because of a choice I made years ago, I have saved lives. I’m not talking about the choice I made to become a doctor, although I have saved…
I’ve spent my entire career fighting for vulnerable patients, especially people of color. So I was ecstatic to hear about a new initiative from dozens of biotech companies. These firms pledged to enroll more people of color in “clinical trials” — the years-long tests that show whether experimental drugs are safe and effective. Historically, people…
By the end of 2020, we find ourselves at an important inflection point in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. As of publication, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency approval for distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. A similar approval is expected shortly for Moderna’s vaccine. While this is positive news, there are some…
It seems like a no-brainer. If a company wants to treat everyone who has a certain disease with its new drug, then it should test that drug in, well, everyone. But that isn’t always the case, even today. This summer, researchers called out Gilead Sciences for failing to “provide equal representation of Black, Latinx and…
Sandy, who manages diversity in clinical trials, talks about the importance of representation in clinical trials and why her work is deeply personal – watch to learn more. Source: https://www.youtube.com/
Clinical research is crucial to ensuring that new medical procedures and drugs are effective and safe for everyone and drug trials are one of the best ways to guarantee safety for patients. Although there is a stigma towards clinical trials in many minority communities, the fact of the matter is that participation from all types of people is necessary for safe drug development.
From the pandemic’s earliest days, the coronavirus has hit hardest in Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. The mortality rate among these groups is more than twice that of whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many explanations have been given: Minorities are more likely to work at riskier, frontline jobs for…
The pharmaceutical industry’s largest lobbying organization released guidelines on Tuesday to enhance racial and ethnic diversity among participants in clinical trials run by its member drug makers. The principles address a problem that has long hampered the development of new medicines and vaccines, including the studies of potential Covid-19 shots. The group, PhRMA, noted that the…
For Immediate Release: November 09, 2020 Statement From: Commissioner of Food and Drugs – Food and Drug Administration Stephen M. Hahn M.D. Throughout my career as a cancer doctor and medical researcher, I have been concerned about and have sought to address issues related to health care disparities. One important step that researchers and medical…
Across the healthcare community, there’s a known disparity in clinical care for underrepresented populations, such as minorities and women.1 These disparities have been further underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, where the most pervasive ones have been observed with African Americans and Latinos.2 The pandemic has created an opportunity to address some of the causes underlying these…