Clinical Trial Diversity on the Decline

According to a recent IQVIA report, clinical trial diversity is on the downswing despite recent efforts to the contrary. The research specifically identified significant under-representation for Black and Hispanic patients. Industry action is needed, according to IQVIA, as clinical trial under-representation is systemic and negatively impacts people from marginalized racial and ethnic backgrounds.

According to Ben Hargreaves, “For much of the history of clinical trials, representation in trials was largely dominated by white male participants. Now, it is better understood that different groups can have distinct disease presentation or health circumstances that affect how they will respond to treatments. It is important to promote greater diversity in trials to ensure that all groups, particularly those that have often been underrepresented, are ensured access to trials. The reasons are various, but the bottom line is to ensure that everyone is able to access the same treatment options, and also to progress overall understanding of diseases and conditions. By limiting the diversity of patient populations into trials, gaps have been created in knowledge of treatment efficacy across populations, and of preventative factors in disease development. There is also the economic cost to consider, with estimations that reducing disparity of healthcare outcomes related to differing population groups could save the US economy billions.”

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(Source: Pharmaphorum, July 4^th, 2023)