UNITE AGAINST CANCER ANNOUNCES $5 MILLION SPONSORSHIP FROM JANSSEN
SOURCE: United Against Cancer
LOS ANGELES, June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Today, Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C) announced sponsorship from the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson with the goal of increasing diversity in phase 1 and phase 2 cancer clinical trials. A $5 million sponsorship from Janssen will support Stand Up To Cancer’s health equity efforts, including funding four groups of researchers who will develop new approaches to eliminate barriers to participation in clinical trials for patients of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as for patients from medically disadvantaged communities. The goal of the program is to address cancer disparities by creating a sustainable, scalable, and replicable approach to removing barriers to participation in Phase 1 and Phase 2 cancer clinical trials.
As part of the Unite Against Cancer Health Equity Initiative, the Janssen-funded Diversity in Early Development Clinical Trials Program will encourage collaborations in four regions, as determined by select groups of funded investigators. These research teams will collaborate with Federally Qualified Health Centers, clinics, and local advocacy organizations serving medically disadvantaged communities within each region. Research teams will meet to share research progress and findings over the course of the grant period to ensure best practices are incorporated into the program. will provide targeted support for community awareness and outreach in support of grantee teams, as well as additional funding for local community advocacy organizations to support these efforts.
“As a major supporter of cancer research, Stand Up To Cancer believes it is critical to ensure that the lack of diverse representation in cancer clinical trials is addressed,” said Russell Chew, president of Stand Up To Cancer. “This is a national imperative that we cannot walk away from. We need new ideas that help innovate and redesign the business of clinical cancer research to include communities that have been left out for too long. We are incredibly grateful to Janssen for their support in these critical efforts.
In the United States, participation in cancer clinical trials remains significantly lower for people of various races and ethnicities, and from medically disadvantaged communities. This is despite the fact that there are substantial disparities in screening, diagnosis, and mortality rates for most cancers. According to 2020 data from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 73% of cancer trial participants are white, 14% are Asian, 6% are Hispanic and 5% are African American. Disparities in clinical trial participation mean that many Americans from various groups may be less likely to have access to innovative therapies in clinical trials. Importantly, the lack of diverse representation in trials makes it very difficult for health care providers to find evidence-based treatments for all patients.
Stand Up To Cancer announced its health equity initiative in January 2020. The initiative focuses on three areas: increasing diversity in Stand Up To Cancer-funded clinical trials, initiating advocacy group collaborations and awareness campaigns and funding research that aims to improve cancer outcomes and detection rates in medically underserved communities.
About Stand Up To Cancer: Stand Up To Cancer raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to quickly get new therapies to patients and save lives now. For more information, visit StandUpToCancer.org
