Novartis adds trial tech and training specialist to health equality program
Novartis has added Advarra, Virb and BeeKeeperAI to its “Beacon of Hope” health equality program to help make the clinical trials with which it is involved more diverse.
Novartis announced the expansion this month, explaining the new members would provide tools to enable the Historically Black Medical School Centers of Excellence to accelerate progress on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in clinical trials.
The Swiss drug firm cited Advarra’s digitally enabled technology and professional services to support clinical trial-site management as its key contribution. BeeKeeperAI will provide its privacy-preserving collaboration platform that enables protected algorithms to compute on real-world data in a secure HIPAA-compliant environment.
While Virb’s role will be to aid with the sourcing and training of clinical trial coordinators and research study staff.
The firms – along with Amgen. Alnylam and the Global Black Economic Forum, which also joined – will also research healthcare disparities, as well as help break down barriers that stand in the way of promising career opportunities for students of color, according to Novartis.
Linda Armstrong, US Novartis foundation president and head of corporate responsibility, said "our relentless commitment to the success of Beacon of Hope led us to undertake a comprehensive assessment of where we have made important progress, and where we still have gaps to fulfilling the mission of the program.
"We actively sought out collaborations with organizations that both possess the expertise necessary to bridge these gaps – particularly on the technology front – and that share our unwavering mission to tackle the fundamental factors that contribute to health and education disparities.”
Novartis established the “Beacon of Hope” program in 2021, teaming with nearly 30 historically Black colleges, universities and medical schools to address health disparities through collective action.
Since then, the Morehouse School of Medicine's Clinical Trial Center of Excellence has initiated four Novartis clinical trials – three in cardiovascular disease and one in polymyalgia rheumatica. Two additional studies in relapsing multiple sclerosis and pulmonary artery hypertension are also under consideration at Morehouse School of Medicine.
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