To celebrate the opening of Johnson & Johnson Innovation -JLABS @ Washington, DCdoors, we are proud to kick-off theIn-Depth Conversations with Residentsseries to introduce you to our inaugural class of resident companies.
After the personal loss of a family member due to complications with an illness, Del Smith, CEO, teamed up with Tiffany Whitlow, Chief Development Officer, to found Acclinate, aBLUE KNIGHT™company at JLABS @ Washington, DC company aiming to increase diversity in clinical trials to achieve more inclusive research that reflects all populations.
Read on to learn how Acclinate seeks to work with underserved communities to build trust in healthcare and underscore the importance of clinical trials in our first installment ofIn-Depth Conversations with Residents.
Q: Tell us the story behind your company. What is the personal and scientific inspiration behind the founding of Acclinate?
DS: When I was younger, my mom, a home healthcare worker, contracted tuberculosis. The doctors gave her drug after drug trying to determine which one was going to be most effective. Unfortunately, she passed away from complication of the illness. I then set on a path to find my biological father, only to learn that he passed away a year prior from cancer. The greater surprise was that he and every single male on his side of the family died from cancer before the age of 50.
These experiences planted the seed for Acclinate and wanting to find ways to better engage communities of color on health-related issues, including clinical trials as treatment options. Forty-three percent of the U.S. population identify as non-white, yet African Americans represent only 5% of clinical trial participants while Hispanic Americans account for 1%.1,2Lack of clinical trial diversity is a major problem for both minority communities and pharmaceutical companies.
So much of this issue stems from the mistrust that communities of color have of the medical community, specifically medical research. At Acclinate, we integrate culture and technology to help bridge this divide by engaging with communities of color on health-related issues that are important to them, while also presenting them opportunities to take part in clinical trials that might be treatment options.
Q: Why start a healthcare or life sciences company? What do you hope your impact will be for patients if you are successful in your vision?
DS: COVID-19 put a spotlight on the health disparities that has always existed in our country. We are on a mission to do our part to advance health equity and ensure more inclusive health research. The time is now. Our technology uses AI/ML to identify diverse individuals who are most likely to take part in a particular trial. Because we are seen as a trusted source, we are able to provide biopharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations, and academic medical centers with more diverse leads that convert to enrolled trial participants.
There has never been so much attention placed on ensuring inclusivity of the life science community. I am encouraged by the many initiatives being led by major stakeholders. However, time will tell if what we are seeing is mostly rhetoric or a decision to invest the resources necessary to truly impact change. When it comes to more inclusive clinical research, I anticipate that a significant shift will likely happen once the U.S. FDA mandates that clinical trial data be representative.
Q: Did you face any obstacles creating your start-up? What, if any, advice would you give to early-stage entrepreneurs? What shaped you into the innovator we see today?
DS: While I have a background in health information systems, my career was not in the clinical trial space – I am not “from the system.” Early on, and still to an extent today, the industry pointed to this as a negative. However, most transformational and disruptive business models come from innovators who are not “from the system.”
Knowing this, we had to not only build a solution that worked, but we had to spent time convincing industry that there was a better way. My advice to other early-stage entrepreneurs is to not let the adage of “who are you” or “this is how we have always done it” be a deterrent to bringing your solution to market.
Q: Why did you want to become a part of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS (“JLABS”)? What are you hoping to achieve as a JLABS @ Washington, DC resident company?
DS:我们需要沉浸在讨论s and challenges that sponsors like the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies face when striving to achieve diversity in their trials. We also needed to validate and further refine our algorithms used to predict who is most likely to take part in a specific trial. As a resident of JLABS @ Washington, DC, we have access to a network to accomplish both. We are pleased with our progress to date and must thank Sally Allain, Head of JLABS @ Washington, DC, and her team for the support and guidance we have received.
For more on Acclinate, visit:https://www.acclinate.com
Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS @ Washington, DC is open for business. Learn more and join us in pursuit of accelerating innovation in service of our patients:https://jji.jnjinnovation.com/join-jlabs-dc.
1https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/12/politics/us-census-2020-data/index.html
2https://www.fda.gov/files/science%20&%20research/published/White-Paper-on-the-Dialogues-on-Diversifying-Clinical-Trials-Conference.pdf
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