- New partnership will provide physician training to drive
improved diversity in clinical trials
- Training program is open to underrepresented groups including
female, Black, Native American, Asian, South Asian, Hispanic and
non-binary cardiologists
- Provides opportunities for underrepresented physicians to
receive training on the clinical trials process, learn new skills,
expand their networks and increase visibility with industry
partners
ABBOTT
PARK, Ill., May 11, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced a new
partnership with Women as One to launch a new program designed to
train more female and underrepresented physicians to pursue
clinical trial research and help recruit clinical trial
participants from historically underrepresented groups.
Women as One is a nonprofit organization with the mission to
promote talent in medicine by providing women physicians with
unique professional opportunities. Abbott provided funding to
develop a new program called CLIMB Research, which provides skills
training for underrepresented cardiologists.
The new program builds upon Abbott's diversity in clinical
trials initiative that was established in 2021 to further
develop and create a more inclusive clinical trial ecosystem in the
U.S.
Research shows there is systemic underrepresentation of women
and under-resourced populations such as Hispanic and Black
participants in clinical trials1,2. By training
physicians, Abbott, in conjunction with Women as One, is helping
close the gaps and overcome the existing barriers to clinical trial
participation: lack of trust, lack of access, lack of understanding
and lack of a common language.
Through six monthly sessions, which include a mix of
instruction, case reviews and group discussions, participants in
the new CLIMB Research skills training program will receive:
- Global Connection Among Underrepresented
Physicians
Learn new skills, expand their networks and
increase visibility with industry partners.
- In-Depth Knowledge from Experts in the Field
Enhanced
curriculum includes renowned guest faculty and training in research
such as Good Clinical Practice (GCP) protocol oversight,
Institutional Review Board reporting, safety management and
practical applications in the clinical trial environment.
- A "New to Research" Track
Provides skills training
for physicians who are interested in pursuing clinical
research.
- An "Enhanced Research" Track
Enhanced skills training
for physicians with some knowledge and experience in clinical
research.
"Clinical trials are the basis of modern medicine and have the
power to drive innovative therapies to fight diseases. Today, women
and populations from under-resourced communities are vastly
underrepresented in clinical trials," said Lisa Earnhardt, executive vice president,
Medical Devices, Abbott, and the co-executive sponsor for the
company's Diversity in Research steering committee that she leads
alongside Andrea Wainer, executive
vice president, Rapid and Molecular Diagnostics, Abbott. "Through
our new partnership with the Women as One CLIMB Research
skills training program, we are actively changing the trajectory of
how underrepresented physicians address clinical trial care for
underrepresented groups."
The collaboration with Women as One is the latest addition to
Abbott's broad corporate initiative designed to improve diversity
in medical research. A key focus of the company's efforts is to
increase the number of diverse investigators leading
trial sites, a situation that compounds the challenges of
increasing enrollment into clinical studies. The new training
program is open to underrepresented groups including female, Black,
Native American, Asian, South Asian, Hispanic and non-binary
cardiologists.
Abbott provided funding of $150,000 for the CLIMB Research program which
adds to the more than $5 million
Abbott has committed since last year, which includes nearly 300
scholarships to medical schools at Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) and minority nursing associations. The company
has also established a Diversity in Clinical Trials Medical
Advisory Board and dedicated funding to increase diversity
enrollment within Abbott trials.
"Women and underrepresented groups are too often absent
from industry-driven activities. Enhancing the representation of
these groups leading clinical trials will have a direct impact on
the number of diverse trial participants,"
said Roxana Mehran, M.D., Women as One Founding director.
"By advancing our training program with Abbott, we are actively
increasing the number of diverse researchers in clinical trials to
create a safe haven of trust to ultimately support underrepresented
patients."
CLIMB Research 2022 is co-sponsored by the Global Cardiovascular
Clinical Trialists (CVCT) Forum. CVCT is a unique annual
educational forum aimed at discussing the latest and most critical
cardiovascular, cardiorenal and cardiometabolic trials. In line
with the goals of CVCT to increase the number of underrepresented
individuals in cardiovascular clinical trial leadership, CVCT is an
active collaborator on CLIMB Research.
To learn more about Women as One Climb Skills Training program
#TIMETOCLIMB sponsored by Abbott, visit:
womenasone.org/CLIMB2022
About Abbott:
Abbott is a global health care leader that helps people live
more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing
technologies spans the spectrum of health care, with leading
businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices,
nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 113,000 colleagues
serve people in more than 160 countries.
Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn
at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter
@AbbottNews.
1 Clark, L.T., et al., Increasing Diversity in
Clinical Trials: Overcoming Critical Barriers. Curr Probl
Cardiol, 2019. 44(5): p. 148-172.
2 Yates, Byrne, Susan
Donahue, Linda McCarty, &
Mathews, 2020.
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SOURCE Abbott