Drug developers have long needed to diversify clinical trials to improve the safety, efficacy, and adoption of new therapies among historically underrepresented groups. “This isn’t new for us,” says Giovanni Caforio, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, which makes treatments for everything from cancer to HIV/AIDS. But BMS made big strides this year. Now, 58% of its U.S. trial sites (compared with a 25% goal) are located in communities that have at least a 30% nonwhite population. It also increased nonwhite-patient recruitment by 22%. There’s more work to be done, but BMS’s sustained focus on diversity is yielding real progress.
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