What Is the Value of Diversity in Clinical Trials?
Are diversity, gender, age and ethnicity important in clinical trials? Mel Mann (pictured above), a 20+ year survivor of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) thinks so.
In 1995, Mel was told he needed to get his affairs in order, as he was given only three years to live. Mel and his family were devastated, thinking his 5-year-old daughter, Patrice, would have no memory of him. Seven months past his 3-year mark, he enrolled in a clinical trial for a drug called STI-571, later named Gleevec, and today, he is alive and thriving as a result. Now, Mel and his wife, Cecelia Mann, are active patient advocates debunking common myths about clinical trials every chance they get.
In this MythBusters program, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of ASCO, Dr. Robert Schilsky will unpack some of the issues that have led to the lack of diversity in clinical trials and initiatives in place that are changing all of this. Dr. Schilsky will also explain his efforts to make trials more available at the community level and for diverse participation.
In Mel’s own words,“My healing came from a drug that was only a gleam in some researcher’s eye at the time of my diagnosis.”
Join us to understand:
- What are the obstacles to minority participation in clinical trials today?
- Does the lack of diversification delay bringing new medicines to the market?
- Why do we need that broad understanding on the community level and not just a subset?
- What evidence-based research speaks to diversity as being key?
Register to join us Thursday, November 1 @ Noon Pacific/3 PM Eastern for a 1-hour webinar. Patients will have an opportunity to ask questions of the panel in advance, just send them to questions@patientpower.info.
Guests
