Novartis and the Novartis US Foundation to join forces with Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Morehouse School of Medicine, 26 other Historically Black Colleges, Universities and Medical Schools and others to address root causes of disparities in health and education
Novartis and the Novartis US Foundation to join forces with Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Morehouse School of Medicine, 26 other Historically Black Colleges, Universities and Medical Schools and others to address root causes of disparities in health and education
|
| [20-July-2021] |
| EAST HANOVER, N.J., July 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis and the Novartis US Foundation today announced a planned 10-year collaboration with Coursera, the National Medical Association, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Morehouse School of Medicine and 26 additional Historically Black Colleges, Universities and Medical Schools (HBCUs) to co-create programs that address the root causes of systemic disparities in health outcomes and create greater diversity, equity and inclusion across the research and development ecosystem.
Leaders from these companies, organizations, and learning institutions have signed a pledge to co-develop programs focused on building trust in the health care system with communities of color and making measurable progress towards health equity. Working together with the communities they aim to impact, the collaboration will focus on improving access to high-quality education, technology, improved health outcomes, and promising jobs; increasing clinical trial and clinical trial investigator diversity; addressing inherent bias in the data standards used to diagnose and treat disease; and finding actionable solutions to environmental and climate issues that disproportionately affect health among communities of color. “At Novartis, we envision a world with equity in health for all. Just as there are a multitude of factors and causes behind racial disparities in health and education, there is no single solution to this critical challenge. It will take the concerted, urgent action of diverse stakeholders across the public and private sectors,” said Vas Narasimhan, MD, CEO of Novartis. “We are honored and humbled to work together with these organizations to build enduring solutions to some of the most pressing, deeply rooted, and historic challenges in the United States, and we invite other like-minded companies and organizations to join us in creating this paradigm shift in health equity.” Over an initial period of ten years, the collaboration will focus on four key areas:
All parties will spend the next six months co-creating programs with the communities, including establishing the first clinical trial, data standards, and environment, climate and health research centers at Morehouse School of Medicine. Each organization will bring its own expertise and resources to design and implement enduring solutions in these areas. “Health equity is not only accessible healthcare for patients, but developing educational and professional opportunities to create a diverse pipeline of educators, clinicians and other professionals, as well as ensuring all are included in clinical studies,” said Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, President and CEO, Morehouse School of Medicine. “This is a first of its kind collaboration and Morehouse School of Medicine is excited to work with Novartis and this coalition of medical schools, colleges, universities and other leading companies and organizations to create centers of excellence for clinical trials, data standards research, and environment and health research. We know that real change starts here, when work is done to make a significant impact on representation and inclusion.” Health disparities affecting minority groups are endemic in the US, most recently demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic by the disproportionate rates of hospitalization and death in minority groups.1 Compared with non-Hispanic whites, the Black and African American community has a lower life expectancy, a higher mortality rate from cancer, a greater likelihood of diseases such as asthma, and significantly increased rates of maternal and infant mortality.2 Some of these health disparities are further exacerbated by increased exposure to negative environmental factors such as air pollution, excessive heat, and poorer water quality in communities of color.3 Health inequity extends to Black and African American underrepresentation across medical systems – not just among clinical trial participants but also among medical school students, physicians, and clinical trial investigators. In 2019, Black and African Americans comprised 13.4% of the US population but only 6.2% of medical school graduates,5% of practicing physicians, and an even smaller proportion of clinical trial investigators.4 “Black and African American people endured education and health disparities in the United States long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Their exclusion from the research and development ecosystem has resulted in mistrust and a delayed uptake of life-saving innovative medicines and effective care models, further exacerbating racial disparities in care and outcomes,” said Patrice Matchaba, MD, President of the Novartis US Foundation. “We are proud to come together to take our direction from Black and African American community members and other minority groups on programs that will help achieve sustained change.” Enabling the next generation of Black and African American leaders As an initial step, the Novartis US Foundation plans to invest $20 million in scholarships, mentorships and research grants over the next 10 years to help create equitable access to high quality education and professional development for HBCU students in health-related fields. Administered by Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the program will train and prepare up to 1,200 students:
“We are pleased to work with Novartis to answer the calls for urgent action to address the role that systemic racism plays in health disparities among Black people,” said Harry L. Williams, EdD, President and CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund. “This kind of investment in HBCUs is critical to ensuring that Black students have opportunities to pursue influential roles in health, science and technology by eliminating barriers and creating pathways through mentorship and training.”
Novartis commitment to diversity in clinical trials Diversity in clinical trials is integral to who we are at Novartis. Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend the lives of all people – inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, location and socioeconomic status. Diverse, inclusive trials are critical to ensuring that we understand how those patients who are most likely to be treated for a disease or condition will respond to a medicine. Novartis is taking a proactive, science-driven approach to address barriers to clinical trial participation, such as identifying sites where diverse patients with a particular disease or condition may be located, identifying healthcare providers who treat underserved or underrepresented populations, and collaborating with researchers to address the goals of enrolling a diverse population in a clinical trial. To learn more about our Commitment to Diversity in Clinical Trials, please visit https://www.novartis.com/sites/www.novartis.com/files/commitment-for-diversity-in-clinical-trials.pdf. Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as “potential,” “can,” “will,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “look forward,” “believe,” “committed,” “commitment,” “investigational,” “pipeline,” “launch,” “pledges,” “to target,” “to increase,” or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding the activities and efforts described in this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the activities and efforts described in this media update, including the collaboration with Coursera, the National Medical Association, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Morehouse School of Medicine and several additional Historically Black Colleges, Universities and Medical Schools, will be completed, or will achieve any of its intended goals, or succeed in the expected time frame or at all. In particular, our expectations regarding the activities and efforts described in this press release, including such collaboration, could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG’s current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Novartis About the Novartis US Foundation Novartis and Novartis US is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews and @NovartisUS at https://twitter.com/NovartisUS. For Novartis multimedia content, please visit https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library. For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com. References # # # Novartis Media Relations
Novartis Investor Relations
SOURCE Novartis Pharmaceuticals |
View original content to download multimedia:
