This program, through the National Cancer Institute (NCI), provided approximately $6 million to cancer centers to design and implement new approaches to increase patient participation in early-stage clinical trials—particularly in minority and underserved populations.

These earliest phases of clinical research, which are designed to test the safety and efficacy of drugs and to determine the best way to administer them, are necessary for researchers to discover potential new treatments that emerge from laboratories and hold promise for cancer patients.

NCI cancer centers are particularly suited for participation in this pilot program, as they have the infrastructure available to conduct early-phase clinical trials, are located in a variety of geographic settings with access to diverse populations, have strong linkages to the communities they serve, and are recognized by industry and NCI as the best organizations for testing new therapeutic agents.

Partners supporting the Overcoming Barriers Initiative helped to reduce health disparities among underserved populations, to increase access to early-phase clinical trials and identify and to overcome barriers that prevent participation. A final workshop and summary report are planned for 2010.

Partners
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
GlaxoSmithKline
Eli Lilly & Company
Novartis
sanofi-aventis