Following the assassination of George Floyd by police, a flurry of pharma and biotech companies, operators and investors sprang out to make statements, or express support for Black Lives Matter and the protests or condemnation of systemic racism.
Now, a Big Pharma company is publicly putting some teeth behind those statements. This morning, Bristol Myers Squibb announced that it would spend $ 300 million on a broad effort to reduce racial health inequalities, diversifying both its clinical trials and its own executive team and workforce.
Winselow Tucker“What I’m really excited about is that this is a tangible view,” said Winselow Tucker, the American commercial hematology lead of Bristol Myers Endpoints News, “that we not only look externally, we also seek internally to find out how we can support the right equity both in our internal organizations and in the communities of patients we serve. “
At $ 60 million, if calculated on an annual basis, the initiative will be small compared to some other Bristol Myers Squibb spending; it represents just 1.7% of its 2019 profits and .2% of its 2019 revenues. Yet it represents the largest financial commitment any major drug maker has made to combat racial inequality or change its internal structure, and one of the first times a company in the sector has set specific goals for changing its executive structure.
Internet has promised pharma giant global gender parity at executive level by 2022 – now 53% women total workers – and double the number of Black and Latino / Hispanic executives by 2022. They also committed to new efforts to open clinical trial sites in subordinate areas.
However, Bristol Myers refused to share a racial distribution for her current workforce than for the patients enrolled in her clinical trials.
Michelle McMurry-HeathNew BIO CEO Michelle McMurry-Heath, who spoke on sectoral representation and clinical trials, praised the company’s efforts.
‘It’s incredibly important that our companies come out here and show leadership; it’s exactly what they need to do, ”McMurry-Heath told Endpoints. ‘And you will probably see more. I know many try not to be this. They really take some time to focus internally and figure out what the best approach is going forward. ”
Tucker and fellow American commercial leader Adam Lenkowsky said the company had discussed such initiatives in recent years, but they came to a head in the spring amid protests over the murder of Floyd and Breonna Taylor and police. as data on the disproportionate toll Covid-19 adopted Black and Latino communities.
Adam Lenkowsky“Because of what we’ve seen with the death of George Floyd and the death of Breonna Taylor, this has become a burning platform in the US,” Lenkowsky told Endpoints.
In recent months, they said, Bristol Myers had a meeting with doctors and various advocacy and patient groups, including Stand Up to Cancer, the National MS Society, and the American College of Cardiology. Asked if the company has consulted with racial justice groups, they pointed to talks with the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP and talks with staff within the organization.
“Our diverse staff – they live very much, especially in the US, with conversations about racial justice, and we have very open conversations with them to understand how they feel and wherever they believe we are. can have an impact, ”Tucker said.
Much of the new initiative will focus on clinical trials. Racial minorities have long been left out of clinical trial research, with Black people making up just 5% of today’s subjects, despite 14% of the population and people of Spanish descent making up just 1% of clinical trial participants , despite 18% of the population. It’s an inequality that leads to what researchers have called a “one-size-fits-all” approach to medicines, both of which leave some desperately ill patients without access to experimental medicines and leaving researchers unaware of how new drugs affect different populations.
Bristol Myers did not set a goal for representation in its trials, but the company said it would introduce new infrastructure in under-served rural and urban areas. Lenkowsky said that in-roads would include in places like Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago. They are also committed to training and developing 250 new “racially and ethnically diverse” clinical researchers.
Pharma has long been widely criticized for high prices that reduce access to life-saving drugs, especially those from marginalized groups. Bristol Myers said it would “accelerate” efforts on disease awareness and its patient support programs to help patients who are unable to afford the medications. They also pointed to commitments they made earlier this year to cover medicines for anyone who has lost health insurance as a result of Covid-19.
In addition, the drugmaker said it would spend $ 20 billion on blacks and “other companies with diversity in ownership” by 2025, to help create jobs and stimulate economic activity. They have also agreed to match donations from 2-1 employees to organizations that are fighting over health.
Tucker said he would like to see other companies in the sector take similar steps.
“When you look at where we’re focusing – whether it’s clinical trials, whether it’s representation within our staff, or it’s the deliveries – these are not situations that are unique to Bristol Myers Squibb,” he said.
