Will the Minister state how many people from an ethnic minority background have accessed patient clinical trials in each year since 2008, and also break down what percentage of all trial participants is made up of ethnic minority patients?
For clinical trials to prove treatments and vaccines work for everyone, it’s essential the ethnicity of participants reflects the wider population. This information is not currently routinely collected across the UK as collecting and synthesising data across different research funders including trials funded by commercial sponsors is very challenging.
Research funders and regulators have started to look at ways of addressing this issue, including ensuring that specific trial participant ‘exclusion/inclusion’ criteria reflects ethnicity appropriately to meet the aims of studies.
Welsh Government officials are engaging with colleagues in the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Health Research Authority and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) INCLUDE programme to address representation of ‘under-served’ groups in research studies. This work includes considering how data on trial participation is effectively captured within UK research systems, alongside broader activities to consider how under-served communities can be better supported through research culture, training, awareness and engagement across the research ecosystem.
In addition, considerations are underway in the role the forthcoming UK-wide Clinical Trial Regulations can play in supporting the collection of this information.