Esther Krofah is the executive vice president of Milken Institute Health, leading FasterCures, Public Health, the Future of Aging, and Feeding Change. She has extensive experience managing efforts to unite diverse stakeholders to solve critical issues and achieve shared goals that improve patients’ lives.
Participation in clinical research among racial and ethnic minorities remains low, even though such groups now represent nearly 40 percent of the US population. Health disparities were laid bare during the COVID-19 pandemic, with ethnic and racial minorities significantly underrepresented in early vaccine trials despite being disproportionally impacted by the disease. As a 2022 National Academies report stated, “The lack of equitable representation in clinical trials compounds disparities in health and will cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Despite decades of work and recent progress—including passage of the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2023, which established legislative mandates for increasing clinical trial diversity—there remains a need for collective action across sectors and organizations to align on goals for system-wide, sustainable change. To that end, members of the four organizations with established leadership in advancing diversity in clinical trials—the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI), FasterCures, the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard (MRCT Center), and the National Academies Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation—coordinated a series of convenings in 2023 to establish a path toward increased diversity in clinical trials.
This report details the actions organizations and sectors from across the enterprise can take to create a clinical trials enterprise that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible to all.
DEI in Asset Management Program Aims to Improve Recruitment, Retention and Advancement; Carlyle joins initiative as Strategic Partner and first Underwriter Washington, DC – October 14, 2021 – As part of its ongoing work to elevate diversity...
Chad Clinton is the director of media relations for the Milken Institute. Hired to this role in August 2021, Clinton develops and executes strategies to amplify the Institute’s core messages by generating coverage of its pillar workstreams, experts, and events.
Countries undergoing population aging today are facing a much different experience than their historical counterparts. One only needs to look at the countries in Asia to see how these trends are unfolding. Demographic aging is happening...
Clinical trial enrollment can vary based on demographics. Cancer drug trials, for example, have been shown to skew disproportionately toward young, White, male participants. Variability also exists in a treatment’s effectiveness across...
The livestreamed eight-day event features nearly 500 speakers, including top business leaders, health and government officials, activists, entertainers, influencers and more. Los Angeles – October 11, 2020 – The 23rd annual Milken Institute...
In this collection of essays from the Center for the Future of Aging, experts identify challenges and opportunities in realizing the potential of healthy, productive and purposeful aging.
FasterCures has initiated a body of work to advance system change within biomedical research to focus on and value diversity and representation within clinical trials. Following our report, ' Achieving Health Equity: A Multi-Stakeholder...
Dr. Richard Pazdur Director Oncology Center of Excellence US Food and Drug Administration Beltsville, MD 20705 Dr. Michelle Tarver Acting Director Center for Devices and Radiological Health US Food and Drug Administration Silver Spring, MD...
Comment Letter: Action Plans to Improve Diversity in Clinical Studies
Esther Krofah is the executive vice president of Milken Institute Health, leading FasterCures, Public Health, the Future of Aging, and Feeding Change. She has extensive experience managing efforts to unite diverse stakeholders to solve critical issues and achieve shared goals that improve patients’ lives.
The Milken Institute applauds Congress on the passage of the FY2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The package includes key health and finance provisions championed by the Milken Institute that will strengthen the biomedical research...
Good mental health is critical to overall health and well-being, but a cycle of almost endless stressors, stigma, and systemic barriers to accessing quality care have brought America’s collective mental health to a breaking point. In 2018...
May 8, 2024 (Los Angeles, CA) —The Milken Institute today celebrated the latest class of its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Fellowship program at its 2024 Global Conference in Los Angeles. The fellowship program, now in...
New partnerships, expanded programming bolsters outcomes and awareness in the financial sector.
The 25th annual event will be in-person and follow strict health and safety protocols Los Angeles – January 10, 2022 – The Milken Institute will hold its 25th annual Global Conference May 1-4, 2022 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles...
Chad Clinton is the director of media relations for the Milken Institute. Hired to this role in August 2021, Clinton develops and executes strategies to amplify the Institute’s core messages by generating coverage of its pillar workstreams, experts, and events.
The Milken Institute and U.S. Small Business Administration Partnership for Lending in Underserved Markets (PLUM) initiative aims to increase the amount of capital reaching minority-owned businesses and the number of successful minority...