Clinical Research Pathways works to improve health and well-being for all by creating pathways to new medicines and treatments. We are a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on increasing diversity in clinical research and expanding access to experimental drugs, biologics, and medical devices. By opening access and advancing treatments, we help make new, effective medicines available to the public.
Increasing Diversity
A primary goal of the research is to discover new knowledge for the public good. Yet many segments of the public—including minorities, women, children, and the elderly—historically have been underrepresented in clinical trials. This underrepresentation raises questions about the relevancy of the research results. Medicines that are not tested on diverse groups of patients can prove ineffective for certain populations. That, in turn, can increase health disparities.
Clinical Research Pathways partners with academia, healthcare, government, and industry to reduce barriers to diversity in clinical trials. Currently, we are working with Morehouse School of Medicine on Training Minority Clinical Teams: Getting New Quality Medicines to All Americans. This innovative program seeks to increase minority participation in clinical trials by training and mentoring minority physicians as clinical investigators and having them recruit and enrol patients at the point of care.
Serving as a resource on expanded access
When desperately ill patients have exhausted all treatment options and are unable to participate in a clinical trial or wait for a trial to be complete, they can turn to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) program that offers access to experimental drugs, biologics, and medical devices. Because many patients and their physicians are unfamiliar with the program, Clinical Research Pathways helps simplify the approval process by providing information, educational materials, and other resources for patients, physicians, and institutional review boards (IRBs). We also work with IRBs, which review applications for expanded access, to help streamline the process.
Find out how you can support these Clinical Research Pathways efforts.