In clinical trials, Is my life Worth Less?
3%of patients in heart disease clinical trials are Black, yet they die of this disease at the highest rate.*
We all pay the price when clinical trials are not inclusive.
Select another disparity
3%
6%
0%
1%
2%
*In clinical trials that supported FDA approvals for cardiovascular drugs between January 2006 and December 2020, compared with the heart disease mortality rate in Black people in the US.
There is still a lack of diversity in clinical trials and it’s costing all of us.
When we deny people of color access to clinical trials, we deny them potentially life-improving treatment.
Why?
Because clinical trials provide access to treatments that may be more promising than what we already have.
“The reality is that the typical clinical trials participant today is an affluent, highly educated White American.”
— Dr Lisa Newman, Surgical Oncologist, Weill Cornell Medicine
The Facts
100%
of clinical trial participants are Native American yet diabetes hits their communities the hardest.
In clinical trials that were registered on ClinicalTrials.gov from March 2000 to March 2020 and documented the inclusion of White, Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American patients.
The less diverse our clinical trials are, the less we are able to develop effective treatments for everyone.
Why?
Certain diseases behave differently in certain racial and ethnic subgroups. Clinical trials need diversity to help us understand why and develop better treatments for all of us.
“Our disease is different from White breast cancer...the only way we’re going to change the game on these statistics is to get the drugs that are made for our bodies.”
— Ricki Fairley, CEO of TOUCH, the Black Breast Cancer Alliance
The Facts
more Black women experience an aggressive form of breast cancer compared with White women.
Based on an assessment of breast cancer risk factors in women aged 40–84 who received a screening mammogram at one of the three participating hospitals in the US from 2006 to 2015.
Inequalities in clinical trials could contribute to inequalities in healthcare that are already costing us billions of dollars.
Why?
It's taxpayers that pay the price of caring for those patients who are sidelined and left to get sicker.
“Even modest reductions in health disparities as a result of better representation in clinical trials…would result in billions of dollars of savings.”
— National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The Facts
$0
billion
in medical expenses could have been saved from 2003 to 2006 if we had eliminated the health inequalities that patients of color face.
In 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars.
Leaving communities of color out of scientific research could reinforce their mistrust in healthcare.
Why?
Patients of color and their healthcare providers may be less likely to accept new medicines that were approved on the basis of clinical trials that lacked adequate representation.
“It can not be automatically assumed that drugs will work equally without sufficient data.”
— Primary care physician, surveyed by Alsan et al. (2024)
The Facts
0%
of doctors are being asked by their patients: "Will this new medicine work in people like me?"
Based on a survey of 137 primary care physicians in the US.
Be Accountable
Are you a clinical trial sponsor who wants to hold yourself accountable? In partnership with Yale and Stanford Universities, Bioethics International has devised a method to score pharmaceutical companies on the level of diversity in their clinical trials. Find out how you and other sponsors have scored to set benchmarks and identify best practices.
Only
16%
of clinical trial sponsors adequately represent race and ethnicity in cancer clinical trials.
Based on an analysis of novel oncology therapeutics approved by the FDA from 2012 to 2017.
Hear From Experts
#ClinicalEquality Sessions 3: Part 1
Dr Wui-Jin Koh, Senior Vice President of the NCCN, talks about the wider societal cost of failing to improve diversity and representation in clinical trials.
Contact Us
FCB Health New York is committed to a healthier world and dismantling systemic racial inequality. Achieving racial equality in clinical trials is a fundamental first step to health equality overall and access to quality care for everyone.
That's why we're partnering with key institutions and advocacy groups to spread our message of clinical trial equality and effect change.
If you or your organization is interested in standing with us, email clinicalequality@fcbhealth.com.