Overview
HPP sought to understand some of the major barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion across all facets of clinical trials, from design to recruitment and data reporting. We created a blueprint for how to address these barriers in practice, drawing on examples from metastatic breast cancer and building on insights from our steering committee.
The challenge
Clinical trials can hugely benefit participants by giving them access to potentially effective interventions. For people with advanced cancers, clinical trials are often the only avenue to potentially promising treatments. Yet participation in and access to clinical trials is very low, and it is disproportionately so for people from under-represented groups.
Making clinical trials more inclusive requires changes from early in the development process through to recruitment and participation. Working closely with a global steering committee consisting of patient organisations and clinical experts in metastatic breast cancer, we mapped a pathway for change that would make clinical trials more equitable and inclusive, with stratified recommendations for relevant stakeholders to ensure actionable change.
What we achieved
- We developed a landmark report that lays out a blueprint for change to build inclusiveness and diversity across all stages of the clinical trial ecosystem.
- Our steering committee members praised the report as an invaluable resource that truly reflected their perspectives, and they have used it extensively in their advocacy efforts.
- We launched the report on Clinical Trials Day in May 2023, with specific calls to action to regulators, trial sponsors and those designing and conducting clinical trials.
- In November 2023, we presented a poster based on the project at the Advanced Breast Cancer Seventh International Consensus Conference (ABC7), hosted by the ABC Global Alliance in Lisbon, Portugal. The report was mentioned by the conference chair during her opening remarks.
Core resources
Project information
HPP was commissioned by Sanofi. Please see the project page for further information.
Get in touch
To find out more about our work on inclusion in clinical trials, contact Helena Wilcox, Associate Director, Research and Policy.
