Expanding clinical trials in South Carolina

The MUSC Florence Research Center, located at MUSC Health-Florence, is one of four community-based clinical research sites across the Southeast chosen to participate in the Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development (EQBMED) Initiative.

The initiative seeks to build a clinical trial network of community-based sites to attract more people of color to participate in clinical research. The selection of these sites is part of EQBMED’s plan to identify an initial 10 community-facing clinical trial sites in historically underrepresented communities of color across the country.

EQBMED is led by Yale’s School of Medicine, which has deep expertise in running clinical trials. Yale’s collaborators on the initiative include Vanderbilt University, Morehouse School of Medicine and the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Coordinating Center located at the Morehouse School of Medicine, with grant funding from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). EQBMED seeks to bring together researchers, patients, communities and trial sponsors to co-design research studies that will engage people of color and then to make those trials accessible to them in their local communities.

 

“We are very honored to be chosen as a site and to partner with EQBMED. We know that access is a huge barrier for our patients locally in terms of research,” said Rami Zebian, M.D., chief medical officer at MUSC Health-Florence. “Bringing additional clinical trials to the area and building on the efforts that we have spent in developing our research site locally will be a huge benefit to our patients. As a physician, and I can speak for my colleagues, we are very excited about the prospect of clinical trials here locally.”

Traditionally, most clinical trials have been centralized in urban academic medical centers, with the expectation that participants would come to them. However, distance and transportation costs have barred many rural residents, especially those of color, from participation. To address that problem, the EQBMED program aims to restore these communities’ trust in science through outreach and community engagement activities. The program is intended to provide people of color easy access to clinical trials in their own communities and to adapt trial designs to better suit the needs and preferences of regional hospitals and the populations they serve.

“Bringing additional clinical trials to the area and building on the efforts that we have spent in developing our research site locally will be a huge benefit to our patients." -- Dr. Rami Zebian

Through the efforts of the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR), MUSC Health had already begun building research capacity throughout its Regional Health Network. SCTR obtained funding from the Duke Endowment to build clinical trial infrastructure and train personnel at MUSC Health-Florence and other regional hospitals.

 

Several barriers to pursuing clinical research were identified. Physicians’ busy clinical schedules often hindered their ability to lead trials. The local community was not always aware that clinical trials were available nearby. The timely delivery of study medications to community-based sites presented a significant challenge. It soon became clear that more needed to be done to ensure the sustainability of clinical research at the regional sites, and SCTR reached out to the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium for ideas.

Thanks to these discussions, Tesheia Johnson, chief operations officer of Yale’s CTSA, the Center for Clinical Investigation, was aware of both SCTR’s ambitions to expand the clinical research footprint in South Carolina and the challenges it faced. She informed SCTR leaders that opportunities existed with EQBMED and nominated the MUSC Florence Research Center as a site.

"We have had early success in establishing a research footprint in Florence and other sites(...). This new opportunity will help us grow the program further on a path to sustainability." -- Dr. Patrick Flume

After applying in October and a virtual site visit by EQBMED leaders in late November, SCTR and Florence leaders were notified in January that they had been chosen as a site, and that Yale would be their hub partner. MUSC will work collaboratively with the Yale EQBMED hub site to expand clinical trial capacity at the MUSC Florence Research Center and to increase awareness of and access to those trials by the diverse community residing in the greater Florence area. The Yale hub will also create a “sponsor front door,” which will enable industry sponsors to learn more about the site and its capabilities and should help to attract more trials to Florence.

“We have had early success in establishing a research footprint in Florence and other sites through support from the Duke Endowment,” said SCTR co-director Patrick Flume, M.D. “This new opportunity will help us grow the program further on a path to sustainability, bringing clinical research to the community.”

 

“The partnership with EQBMED brings to the table experts in this area who can help us to navigate some of the challenges that we have and can bring studies that will benefit the Florence region while being well-suited to community hospitals,” said SCTR administrator and director of MUSC’s Office of Clinical Research Royce Sampson.

For MUSC Health-Florence, the partnership between the MUSC Florence Research Center and EQBMED will mean that more of its patients and members of the surrounding community have access to cutting-edge therapies through industry-sponsored clinical trials. It will ensure that its physicians can refer their patients and engage in clinical research. It will lead to stronger ties between community hospitals and communities of color and the selection of trials focused on diseases of greatest concern to residents of the region.

“The partnership with EQBMED brings to the table experts in this area who can help us to navigate some of the challenges that we have and can bring studies that will benefit the Florence region while being well-suited to community hospitals.” -- Royce Sampson

For SCTR, it will mean that lessons learned about building sustainable clinical trial infrastructure at MUSC Health-Florence can be applied at other community hospitals in its Regional Health Network.

For EQBMED, this collaboration with MUSC Health-Florence and other selected sites located in racially diverse communities across the Southeast and eventually across the nation will yield more representative data to inform decisions regarding the approval of new drugs and therapies, thereby ensuring equitable access to clinical breakthroughs for all Americans.