Lilly is to partner with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) to train clinical trial investigators from ethnic minorities in the US.
The programme is the first of its kind in the industry and will see the two partners host a three-day clinical research workshop for physicians of Hispanic, African American and other minority groups descent.
It is hoped the initiative, which is scheduled to take place in 2014, will train 75 to 150 oncologists how to conduct clinical trials investigations in cancer.
According to Lilly, African Americans account for just 1 to 2 per cent of the 10,400 oncologists in the US, while Hispanics account for 2 to 3 per cent.
The programme will benefit the validity of clinical trials as it will encourage the involvement of more diverse populations of patients, said Dr Coleman Obasaju, senior medical director at Lilly Oncology and global leader of diversity in clinical research.
“Because medicines don’t work the same for everyone, we need to understand how medicines work and the safety profile in patients likely to take them,” he said.
“By training more oncology minority investigators, our goal is to reach even more diverse populations.”
Specific aspects of the workshop include educating physicians about good trial design and how to conduct trials that cater to minority groups and under-represented populations.
Enrolment for the workshop is set to open in autumn this year.