„Medical innovations and healthcare for everyone“

African Americans are often excluded from healthcare options and underrepresented in clinical trials that can make a difference in their lives. We are committed to changing that. We seek out global patient advocates like Connie Montgomery to better understand the needs of underserved communities. We recognize the importance of hearing directly from community members to learn how we can better partner with them. Watch our video from one such community in South Carolina, USA.

Connie Montgomery is a global patient advocate and member of the Gullah Geechee community, a Creole people of African descent, living predominantly on the east coast of the United States, especially in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. They are the descendants of enslaved people who lived and worked under inhumane conditions and received little or no medical care. The historical experiences of the Gullah Geechee and other marginalized communities continue to shape their views on the healthcare industry to this day.

Diversity in clinical trials

Medicines may work differently for different people. Because every human is unique, so too is their response to healthcare treatments. One reason is contributing biological factors, including genetics, gender and age. The impact is often compounded by contributing socio-economic factors such as education, employment and living in remote areas.
Historically, women, racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly, rural populations and other underserved communities have often been underrepresented in clinical trials, limiting evidence-based knowledge about how potential treatments work in diverse populations.
At Boehringer Ingelheim, we understand the importance of diversity in clinical trials, not only to develop treatments that address the needs of our world’s increasingly diverse population, but also to enable more equitable healthcare.
We invited more than 25 advocates, including Connie, from different backgrounds – patients, care partners, healthcare professionals and researchers – to our Global Clinical Trial Experts and Diversity Panel in Amsterdam. In this three-day workshop in early September, we discussed the importance of establishing trust with diverse communities and how to partner to incorporate their insights throughout our medicine development process to ultimately create more inclusive research.