Increasing Clinical Trial Diversity with a Satellite Model

In a recent video interview with Applied Clinical Trials, Iddo Peleg, CEO and co-founder at Yonalink, discussed the impact of recent FDA and NIH actions on clinical trials. With changes in funding and DEI initiatives, there is a need to make trials more accessible for patients. Peleg highlighted how advancements in technology could address this, not only increasing accessibility, but efficiency as well.

ACT: How do you think the FDA removing its diversity webpages and the recent NIH funding cuts will affect the operational aspect of clinical trials in the present?

Peleg: This is very interesting, because when you're thinking about the main challenges that we have in clinical trials, only 5% of the Americans have access for clinical trials, so basically, a clinical trial is the care option. It's not an option, so the steps need to go in order. How can we facilitate? How can we impact the operations in clinical trials, and eventually, what we want to be in is a place that the change will be shifted. Meaning right now, the majority of the clinical trials, are done in the big institutions in the big cities, we want that everyone will have a chair next to the table of clinical trials and all types of activities that are promoting this type of diversity in a clinical trial, meaning going to different geographical places, to go outside of the big cities, go to the rural areas, go to the neighborhoods. I think this is critical and this one will generate true diversity in clinical trials, and it will make clinical trial accessible to any patient. I will say more than that, when we are saying only 5% of Americans have access for clinical trials, this dramatically impacts the recruitment in clinical trials, because not everyone can, so it's very hard to enroll patients. You have dozens, maybe hundreds of different companies for prescreening and to increase enrollment, so this is a huge, huge problem. I think basically what we need is to be in a place that we are going to the to the satellite model and I think the FDA is starting to go in right direction with it, meaning we still need to have the site of excellence in the big cities, but they are going to be the hub, and then you can have dozens of small sites outside of the big cities. They can bring the enrollment, they can bring the diversity, and the operations and the new guidance that hopefully will be issued can impact this approach.