<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655392660059,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-7410-df17-a7ff-7edd9d280000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655392660059,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-7410-df17-a7ff-7edd9d280000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55244537", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1032720"} }); ","_id":"00000181-6d16-db25-adf7-7d1fe7680000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedWalgreens is hoping to make drug research more equitable and diverse with the launch of its clinical trial business on Thursday.
The venture followed a recent ethnic study by the Food and Drug Administration that revealed 75% of trial patients are white while just 11% are Hispanic and fewer than 10% are Asian or black, the company said.
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“Walgreens’s trusted community presence across the nation, combined with our enterprisewide data and health capabilities, enables us to pioneer a comprehensive solution that makes health options, including clinical trials, more accessible, convenient, and equitable,” said Ramita Tandon, Walgreens’s chief clinical trials officer. “Through the launch of our clinical trials services, we can provide another offering for patients with complex or chronic conditions in their care journey while helping sponsors advance treatment options for the diverse communities we serve. This is yet another way we are building our next growth engine of consumer-centric healthcare solutions.”
Participation in clinical trials has been declining, with 80% of trials failing to meet enrollment goals on time, according to Walgreens.
The company said it is attempting to improve clinical trial experiences and fix the decline in trial participation through “insights-driven patient recruitment,” which can match diverse patient populations to trials across a range of diseases; making trials more accessible by allowing patients to engage at home, virtually, or in-person; and using “real world insights” to “support sponsors’ drug development strategies, inform clinical trial designs, optimize trial execution and improve diversity in trials.”
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Walgreens previously focused on aiding underserved populations during the pandemic by administering approximately 40 million vaccines, the company said.
The first round of the project will start in Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles and San Francisco in California, but more trial centers are expected to be rolled out later.
