Where We Are Now |
|
ClinicalTrials.gov reports that there are currently approximately 206,000 active clinical-trial sites in the United States. This number includes both drug and device trials in all phases of research. There are over 38,000 zip codes in the United States. Fifty percent of all active clinical trials are conducted in 478 zip codes (collectively, we will refer to them as clinical-trial zip codes). A Houston, Texas, zip code, 77030, leads the list. It has 38 institutions that are conducting over 1,500 clinical trials.
Twenty-two percent of all trials occur in zip codes in which the majority of the population are members of the nation’s racial or ethnic minority groups (referred to herein as minority zip codes); 115 (24%) of the 478 clinical-trial zip codes are also minority zip codes. Clinical research institutions in minority zip codes can play a central role in building a clinical-trial network that has capacity to improve recruitment of diverse populations. Because of their location, for example, they can provide technical assistance to physicians who are practicing in these communities and who have an interest in being investigators. They could become prominent hubs in a permanent national clinical-trial network that fosters research, reduces the cost of discovery, and facilitates the recruitment of diverse populations. |
|
|
 |
Mapping Clinical Trials |
Changing demographics will increase diversity in the US population. The demographic shift will require greater diversity of subjects in clinical trials to meet market needs, presenting the challenge of designing clinical trials whose results will be transferable into clinical practice for all segments of the population. Currently, the US clinical-trial infrastructure can best be described as disconnected. A number of prominent institutions have developed unique internal capacities to manage clinical trials, but there is no network to foster efficient recruitment of patients or investigators. What is needed is a well-defined, permanent infrastructure that has the capacity to promote the recruitment of more diverse populations at a fraction of today’s cost while encouraging innovations when unmet needs are recognized.
Clinical Trial Atlas
The Clinical Trial Atlas (CT Atlas) maps data collected by the federal government from clinical trials throughout the United States. Users may search, filter, and map trials of drugs and devices by disease and location (nationwide, by state, by legislative district, and by zip code). They may also map minority zip codes to identify clinical trials that are located in or near minority communities.
National Clinical-Trial Infrastructure
The CT Atlas is the cornerstone for a permanent clinical-trial network that will foster the recruitment of underrepresented populations in clinical trials, reduce the cost of recruiting and maintaining clinical trials through the deployment of a secure electronic backbone that facilitates the transfer of authorized information, identify populations where disease prevalence would serve as an indicator for locating a clinical-trial site, and produce aggregated reports about the characteristics of patients recruited in trials. Each function will draw upon a common set of enabling technology, analytics, data, and security and governance resources. The ultimate objective of this network is to eliminate the underrepresentation of minorities in clinical trials and create efficiencies in the recruitment and maintenance of clinical trials.
Register now to access the CT Atlas.
|
|
Contact Us |
|
National Minority
Quality Forum
1200 New Hampshire Avenue, NW,
Suite 575
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202.223.7560
Website: http://www.nmqf.org
|
|
|
