Highlights from the Clinical Trial Accelerator Summit

In the Fall of 2021, the Foundation convened a summit to discuss accelerating enrollment into clinical trials. Patients, healthcare professionals, representatives from other non-profits, the pharmaceutical industry, and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) participated in discussions focused on identifying potential solutions to the challenges of enrolling patients into IBD clinical trials and getting advanced treatments for those with IBD to the market faster.  

The discussions focused on: 

1. Healthcare Professional (HCP) Engagement: Understanding the barriers and potential solutions to engaging more healthcare professionals to participate in or be more likely to refer their patients into clinical trials. 

2. Diversity and Inclusion: Enrolling a more diverse and representative population of IBD patients in clinical trials, including racial/ethnic diversity, disease experience from mild to severe, and patients who have typically been excluded from trials like patients with ostomies, j-pouch, surgeries, etc.

3. Patient Centricity: Designing trials that minimize barriers for patients to enroll and reflect outcomes that are most relevant and meaningful to IBD patients. 

4. Patient Compensation: Exploring the appropriateness of compensation for patients to participate in clinical trials.

The summit included topic-based presentations by thought leaders, followed by interactive and moderator-led break-out group discussions. At the end of the summit, participants prioritized the above mentioned areas and shared their insights on how the Foundation plays a pivotal role in increasing engagement in clinical trials.

The Foundation understands how our mission and strategic plan requires us to take a leadership role in addressing all four areas. We are dedicated to accelerating the development of new therapies and advancing progress towards a clinical trials ecosystem that is more efficient, effective, patient-centered, and accessible. Over the next three years, we will proactively explore and implement promising programs to increase clinical trial access and diverse enrollment.

We look forward to working with the IBD HCP community, patients, and caregivers in designing, implementing, and evaluating these initiatives.

Our efforts will be an iterative approach, and we will provide updates on our progress. If you have questions or want to be engaged in these efforts, please reach out to our Clinical Trial Team: [email protected]. 

Support provided in part by: