Progress Built on Commitment
Through partnerships across the country, the PhRMA Equity Initiative is committed to creating a more representative workforce and equitable health care system.
Watch our video to learn more about the PhRMA Equity Initiative’s progress, and how we’re committed to building on our 2020 commitments.
Updates on Our Progress
Community Based Partnership
PhRMA CAREs Grant Program
Pathways to Success Summit
Clinical Trial Diversity
July 2022: Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development
Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development, a first-of-its-kind, cross-collaborative, community-based effort, seeks to tackle systemic challenges to clinical trial participation and share our findings broadly to help drive change.
This partnership is focused on supporting local sites and patients in underrepresented communities to enhance clinical trial diversity in a sustainable way.
Health Equity
PhRMA Announces Nearly $500k In Health Equity Grants
PhRMA is dedicated to building a more equitable health care system.
The PhRMA CAREs grant program provides financial awards to community-based organizations that work to address health inequities.
The application for the fifth round of CAREs grants is open until Tuesday, September 12th at Noon EST. Click to apply.
Talent
2023 Pathways to Success Graduate Summit and Career Expo
The summit is driven by industry-wide efforts to build a representative workforce and increase diverse talent in the biopharmaceutical industry. PhRMA is excited to host the virtual 3rd Annual Pathways to Success Graduate Summit and Career Expo on September 27 and 28, 2023.
Pathways to Success: Virtual Graduate Summit and Career Expo
PhRMA is excited to host the 3rd Annual Pathways to Success Grad Summit on September 27 and 28, 2023. The two-day, free virtual summit is a unique opportunity for students, postdoctoral trainees and faculty to explore biopharmaceutical career opportunities with community partners and PhRMA member companies.
Our Pillars
Diversity is critical to the work that we do.
That is why we are committed to improving health equity, enhancing diversity in clinical trials, and building a workforce that better represents the diversity of the United States.
Discover PhRMA Equity’s progress across our three pillars: clinical trial diversity, health equity, and talent.
Clinical Trial Diversity
We believe that increasing diverse enrollment in clinical trials is a critical step for increasing access to medicines and improving health outcomes.
Health Equity
We’re helping to create systemic and long-lasting change to improve health equity across underserved communities.
Talent
We believe that building a more just and equitable health care system must include a focus on increasing diverse talent to drive real change within the industry.
Building a More Equitable Health Care System
COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact it has had on communities of color has shown us that the time to fix inequities in our health care system is right now. Communities of color must finally receive the highest quality of care. Every patient deserves the opportunity to make rational and informed decisions about their own care. We commit to industry action and to supporting policies that will build a more just, equitable health care system, including:
Improving Clinical Trial Diversity
Investing in Data
Promoting Best Practices
Aligning with Equity Goals
Improving Clinical Trial Diversity
Improving clinical trial diversity and building an industry workforce that better represents the diversity of the United States by encouraging a culture of inclusion and investments in educational pathways.
Investing in Data
Investing in rigorous data and measurement infrastructure by improving data collection and reporting that more accurately measures health disparities.
Promoting Best Practices
Promoting best practices for improving equity in health care screenings, diagnosis and treatment.
Aligning with Equity Goals
Align incentives with equity goals by supporting equity-focused quality metrics and equitable access to medicines for all communities.
We are working to deliver a more affordable and equitable health care system for all. For a summary and detailed overview of PhRMA's patient-centered agenda, click below.
Reports and Agency Comments
PhRMA publishes reports about equity efforts and submits public comments to government agencies on issues of health equity and clinical trial diversity.
Resources
A Sustained Commitment to Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
-
ReportAs the United States continues to undergo significant demographic changes, racial and ethnic diversity are driving the nation’s population growth. Despite these trends, however, economic and workplace disparities persist, particularly in managerial and technical roles and the “STEM” (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce.
Patient Experience
-
Fact SheetPractices by insurers and middlemen - known as pharmacy benefit managers - are disproportionately affecting historically underserved communities. Many of these communities bear the burden of systemic and societal barriers to care. PhRMA’s fourth installment of the Patient Experience Survey (PES) reveals the difficulties Black and Hispanic patients experience when accessing and affording health care.
Progress Built on Commitment: PhRMA Equity in 2022
-
ReportSince PhRMA's 2020 commitment to leading the biopharmaceutical industry's efforts to push for better health outcomes for underserved communities, we have dedicated significant time and resources toward areas where we can drive real progress—namely health equity, clinical trial diversity and talent.
Report: Insurance Barriers Contribute to Health Disparities Among Commercially Insured American
-
ReportAs health insurance benefit designs increasingly shift prescription drug costs to patients or impose other barriers to access, the impact disproportionately falls on people of color. This report outlines how many common commercial health insurance benefit design features create barriers to access medicines, why these barriers impact underserved communities and communities of color more severely, and what practices and policies may help achieve more equitable coverage for commercially insured patients.
Understanding Medicine Abandonment as a Barrier to Health Equity
-
Speeches & CommunicationIn the United States, nearly one in ten new prescriptions, a total of 55 million, were never picked up at the pharmacy in 2020. However, medicine abandonment does not impact all populations equally. An analysis based on IQVIA data revealed that even with insurance, African American patients are less likely to pick up their medicines at the pharmacy counter than White patients. This can lead to worse health outcomes for these patients and further contribute to existing gaps in health equity.
About PhRMA
-
Fact SheetFor more than 30 years, the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry has been the world leader in the development of new medicines, and PhRMA member companies continue to be at the forefront. PhRMA is committed to addressing health inequities and improving health outcomes for underserved communities.
Stay Updated on PhRMA’s Equity Initiative
Subscribe below for regular email updates as we push for necessary systemic and long-term change to improve health outcomes for underserved communities.
