Eli Lilly has expanded its partnership with Care Access to diversity its pool of participants for clinical trials.
The agreement – financial terms of which were not disclosed – will see Boston-based Care Access establish and foster local community partners including health care systems, physician groups, diversity-focused groups, advocacy groups, and community centers.
The firm said it will create partnerships with surgical and medical oncologists in underrepresented minority groups. It also plans to establish community-based partnerships through its Patient Access team to better reach trial gatekeepers and patients.
Care Access will also aim to educate patients so they can make informed decisions on whether to participate in the trial based on their medical needs.
Care Access is already working on eMonarcHER, which examining the drug abemaciclib as a therapy for women with hormone receptor positive and HER 2 positive, high risk, early breast cancer who are taking hormone therapy after surgery.
Diversity
Lilly and Care Access have already worked together on COVID-19 related clinical trials of the monoclonal antibody (mAb) LY-CoV555.
Amy Davis, Senior Director of Oncology Clinical Development at Lilly, framed the expanded agreement as part of a wider effort to improve study participant diversity.
“Over the past decade, we have been committed to increasing enrolment of racially and ethnically diverse clinical trials including educating physicians and patients about the importance of diversity and partnering with organizations dedicated to expanding representation.
“Our work with Care Access--an organization equally committed to increasing representation of minority group members in clinical trials--brings us one step closer to achieving these diversity goals.”
Care Access CEO Ahmad Namvargolian stressed the importance of diversity in studies, citing cancer trials as a particular example.
“There’s been a 40% decline in breast cancer deaths over the last 30 years a stark mortality gap remains between Black women and Caucasian women. It’s absolutely critical for our industry to address these hollowing disparities.
“We are confident in our ability to expand patient access to deliver lifesaving treatments to patients faster and are excited to partner with Lilly on eMonarcHER to increase representation in clinical trials for minority group members immediately and for decades to come.”
Image: Stock Photo Secrets