TrialAdvance has created a new strategy group called iDICT (Improving Disparities In Clinical Trials), aimed at helping study sponsors achieve the federal government’s directive to increase participation of underrepresented populations in clinical trials.

“Despite the fact that the government issued its strongest recommendations yet about the need to address participation of minorities, women, seniors and other underrepresented populations in clinical trials, few companies have been able to comply,” said Kathleen B. Drennan, president and CEO of TrialAdvance. “Many have not yet incorporated this effort into their protocol development and up-front planning process, leading to inadequate enrollment of these challenging populations.

Rebecca Budd will serve as the group’s managing director and chief strategist. “Rebecca Budd’s insight has been developed from years of experience in research and analytics, medical communication and patient recruitment strategy, and she has been successful in developing effective strategies for reaching these difficult-to-enroll subgroups,” said Drennan.

“The motivation to participate in clinical trials differs from subgroup to subgroup,” said Budd. “TrialAdvance’s programs not only help sponsor teams achieve better study participant demographics, but also complement Engagement-Training, our proprietary program designed to help study sites tap into their diverse patient communities.”

Budd works with multicultural experts to develop and execute study strategies targeting underrepresented populations. Previously, she worked for Iris Global Clinical Trial Solutions, the Omnicom Group and Hoffmann-LaRoche. Her range of therapeutic experience includes cardiovascular, endocrinology, virology and neurology. 

“There is significant pressure for companies to improve clinical trial participation of women, children, the elderly and diverse racial and ethnic groups today,” said Budd. “These populations bear a disproportionate burden of many diseases. It is critical for clinical trial sponsors to explore differences in how a disease progresses and how patients respond to treatment. The creation of the iDICT Group solidifies TrialAdvance’s commitment to bring clinical trials to all people.”

TrialAdvance builds Super Sites, high-performing clinical trial investigative sites that perform better, recruit patients faster and complete trials sooner, all key to avoiding study delays.