There’s been much progress made in addressing the inequities patients of color face in health care, including dermatology. But here at Pfizer, we recognize that there is still room for improvement, including by us, and we are committed to continuing our work in supporting this ongoing progress.
We are supporting fellowship programs for HCPs interested in dermatologic disorders in patients of color; grants to develop AD educational materials in Spanish and to address health literacy; and competitive research grant requests for investigations of genetic/immunophenotypic differences among patients of color as well as validation studies on AD disease activity measures in patients of color.
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To start, we wanted to better understand our own clinical trials through an equity lens and recently conducted a rigorous, in-depth analysis of demographics in our US clinical trials initiated between 2011 and 2020. This analysis included 213 trials conducted in all five of our therapeutic areas: Internal Medicine, Inflammation & Immunology, Oncology, Rare Disease, and Vaccines, along with our legacy Neuroscience portfolio.
14.3%
Black and African American individuals participated in Pfizer trials at a similar rate to the US census level (14.3% vs 13.4%)
15.9%
Hispanic or Latino individuals participated at a rate below US census (15.9% vs 18.5%)
37.9%
of Pfizer Inflammation & Immunology trials for Black or African American participants
72.4%
of trials for White participants
41.4%
of trials for Asian participants
24.1%
of trials for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander participants
6.9%
of trials for American Indian and Alaska Native participants
41.4%
of trials for Hispanic or Latino participants
Pfizer’s commitment and efforts to achieve diversity in clinical trials:
Pfizer ranked among the top 5 pharmaceutical companies in the 2021 Access to Medicine Index (ATMI)—a testament to the efforts of programs such as Pfizer Rx Pathways, our patient assistance program, to focus on addressing health care disparities.
We are collaborating with the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) on DEI initiatives. We are also collaborating with the Skin of Color Society to fund institution-based fellowship opportunities with a clinical, translational, or observational/prospective research focus on dermatological conditions among patients of color.
Through the Pfizer Multicultural Health Equity Collective (MHEC), we are partnering with patient advocacy organizations, health care provider associations, community groups, and legislative caucuses to help achieve health equity across ethnic and other underrepresented groups agnostic of disease.
In 2020 alone, the MHEC engaged with more than 39 organizations and supported 74 individual events or activities across the United States.
In 2020 alone, the MHEC engaged with more than 39 organizations and supported 74 individual events or activities across the United States.
We are supporting the conversation on equity in medical dermatology, with initiatives such as our partnership with The Atlantic to create “Beyond Skin Deep,” which included discussions on how health disparities and geography affect dermatological treatment.
In 2021 Pfizer ranked 21st in Forbes magazine’s “America’s Best Employers For Diversity” ranking, within the top 5% best companies and with accomplishments in corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Pfizer is the highest ranked Pharma company in this Forbes ranking.
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See Pfizer’s 2020 Environmental, Social & Governance Report for more on our internal colleague diversity.
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We continue to further increase minority representation within Pfizer through initiatives such as our Breakthrough Fellowship Program.
Watch nowThere are many ways that we at Pfizer can do still better–we look forward to offering our support and our partnership as we all work together.
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