Targeting Disparities in Multiple Myeloma to Provide Equitable Care

April is National Minority Health Month and Celebrate Diversity Month, and off the heels of March’s awareness month of Myeloma Action Month, this is an opportune time to ask: what more can be done to target disparities in multiple myeloma?

Just 30 years ago, the five-year survival rate for multiple myeloma was about 29%. Now, with deeper understanding of this disease and better treatment approaches that address the whole person, people are not only living longer, they are indeed thriving! Multiple myeloma can now be viewed as a chronic condition rather than a death sentence. I am mindful of the progress we’ve made in?multiple myeloma and hopeful because innovation is clearly on our side. However, recent advances aren’t enough.

Amid so much medical innovation, research is still neither fair nor equal. Truly representative studies remain a wish list item rather than a reality. We know that a key component in effective research and drug development is ensuring every patient equally benefits from scientific advancements. This, unfortunately, is not the case. For example, despite African Americans accounting for 13% of the U.S. population and representing almost 20% of all multiple myeloma cases, we represent just 4% of the patients in global multiple myeloma clinical trials. Statistics like these are unacceptable. We need substantial, collaborative efforts to accelerate significant solutions and address these major challenges. The answers are there; we just need to discover them.

I’m honored to be a part of groups actively generating more ideas to help close these gaps, including serving as the Chair of R&D Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council within GSK. We recognize that a range of interrelated variables influence access to care, such as social,?economic, cultural, environmental and health system factors, to name a few. The patient population at the forefront of this disease sometimes may not receive equal opportunities to benefit from advancements in medicine. Furthermore, the communities where these patients live can feel like medical deserts, devoid of options for advanced medical treatments and clinical trials.

We need to meet underserved patients where they are, enabling appropriate community infrastructures and leaving our unconscious bias at the door. It is our duty to represent patients who are significantly affected, yet severely underrepresented. We are taking steps to confront inequities and harness grassroots efforts to help more patients benefit from scientific developments by: ensuring our protocols are inclusive at GSK, creating a diversity recruitment plan for 100% of our Phase 3 studies and implementing them; upskilling diverse principal investigators; providing means for patients in various communities to access to our trials; and attacking the unconscious biases in the medical community head on. Our uncompromising focus on ensuring no stones were left unturned and by implementing some of these steps, we had the highest percentage of African Americans with multiple myeloma enrolled in one of our clinical trial in 2020. We know that increasing representation is possible, and we’re continuing to lock arms with the community make true representation no longer becomes a goal but a reality!

A key component of National Minority Health Month is raising awareness of and reducing healthcare disparities among racial and ethnic minority communities. The need to find new ways to address these barriers led GSK to create Target the Future, an international, multi-year initiative to inspire and advance innovation, foster understanding of key needs in the multiple myeloma community, and facilitate tangible solutions. We recognize that no single company or group can address these complex obstacles alone. Partnerships unified to deliver on this goal are paramount to amplify this effort and transform – or even revolutionize – the outcomes of all patients. The Think Tank Challenge is a call to the community to share the best ideas to address systemic disparities in care. GSK will grant approximately ￡85,000 (equivalent to approximately $100,000) to the strongest proposal to help bring the idea to life and I invite anyone eligible to share your ideas so we can advance equity.

The Think Tank Challenge grant’s first recipient was the HealthTree Foundation, a non-profit helping multiple myeloma patients become their own best advocates. HealthTree’s proposal aims to improve access, education and support for disadvantaged populations and minority patients. Specifically, GSK’s grant is helping to expand two of HealthTree’s initiatives supporting such underserved communities; “Black Myeloma Health” and “HealthTree for Mieloma Múltiple”. ?Moved by the potential of these amazing programs, our next round of the Think Tank Challenge focuses entirely on targeting disparities. We need more brilliant minds who have diverse backgrounds and unique experiences to create solutions with us. During National Minority Health Month and beyond – I’m inspired and optimistic just thinking about what may come from the next pool of Target the Future applications.

The oncology community has proven that we can make exponential impact for patients – yet it is imperative that we do more, because multiple myeloma remains incurable, and critical challenges persist. As we develop groundbreaking ideas to improve patient outcomes, we need to ensure better access for all. We are committed to addressing disparities. This is not one person or one organization’s challenge; it is humanity’s challenge. And the powerful truth is that we're in a position to do something about it, together! ?#TargetTheFuture #multiplemyeloma #aheadtogether #gsk #equitablecare