Thermo Fisher Scientific and National Minority Quality Forum Collaborate to Make Clinical Research More Accessible to Historically Underserved Communities
- Collaboration aims to enroll and retain patients from historically underserved populations in clinical trials
- Supports regulatory expectations and FDA requirements around diversity action plans
- Addresses past structural and systemic inequity in accessing clinical research
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The work reflects Thermo Fisher and NMQF’s shared commitment to health equity and building sustainable solutions to engage groups and communities in
Participation in clinical trials provides patients with early access to cutting-edge medicines under close medical supervision, while offering treatment options to patients facing a variety of disease diagnoses. ARC is a multi-sponsor public/private program focused on increasing clinical research participation within communities of color and other populations that have been historically underrepresented in clinical trials. Since NMQF’s recently renamed Center for Clinical and Social Research launched ARC in 2022, the program has established clinical research sites in 11 states, including
The ARC program includes the PI Institute, which trains community clinicians to become clinical trial principal investigators. MyClinical, a for-profit affiliate of the ARC program, is an investigative research network of PI Institute graduates designed to empower independent community clinicians and federal qualified health clinics to facilitate industry-sponsored clinical trials.
Thermo Fisher’s clinical research business and NMQF will help build the capacity of community health clinics to participate in clinical trials. The collaboration will integrate ARC clinics into the clinical research process through comprehensive training and ongoing participation as investigator sites in clinical trials. Participating clinics include federally qualified health centers and private community-based/non-academic health care practices.
“To better serve our biopharma customers and drive greater health equity and access to potentially life-changing therapies, we are working to build clinical trials that reflect the diverse populations in society,” said Michel Lagarde, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Helping to train clinicians with NMQF addresses the need to expand and sustain a pipeline of experienced clinical research providers, and underscores Thermo Fisher’s mission to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer.”
Thermo Fisher’s clinical research business provides customized support, training and mentorship through its SiteCoach program to community clinicians in the PI Institute and the MyClinical investigative site network. This support helps expand access to trials and accelerate the development of novel medicines by providing advanced training to staff members at community clinics and practices who are new to clinical research.
The SiteCoach program includes practical, self-paced modules to help investigator sites better understand, recognize and address the barriers that often prevent populations from accessing clinical trials. Building this level of in-depth capacity – with experienced site clinical resources and establishing connectivity with industry clinical trial sponsors – is a critical success factor for investigator sites.
The MyClinical network utilizes community clinicians, who have developed trust in, and have personal knowledge of, the neighborhood residents they serve. These clinicians can support trial recruitment and planning by ensuring enrollment criteria and trial logistics do not create additional barriers. This can help simplify the research site-selection process for trial sponsors seeking to ensure their studies represent historically underserved patients who disproportionately experience disease.
“Diversifying clinical trials demands an enduring commitment and shared responsibility among the various stakeholders within the health care ecosystem,” said Salvatore Alesci, M.D. Ph.D., senior vice president of NMQF’s Center for Clinical and Social Research. “ARC sets the stage. ARC isn't just a platform. It's a catalyst set to disrupt the traditional approach to clinical research that does not reflect the increased diversity and complexity of the
About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over
About The National Minority Quality Forum
National Minority Quality Forum assists health care providers, professionals, administrators, researchers, policymakers, and community and faith-based organizations in delivering appropriate health care to minority communities. This assistance is based on providing evidence in the form of science, research, and analysis that will lead to the effective organization and management of system resources to improve the quality and safety of health care for the entire population of the
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Media:
Sandy Pound
Phone: 781-622-1223
E-mail: sandy.pound@thermofisher.com
Investor:
Rafael Tejada
Phone: 781-622-1356
E-mail: rafael.tejada@thermofisher.com
National Minority Quality Forum
Adjoa Kyerematen
202-220-8505
akyerematen@nmqf.org
Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.