Acurian announces opted-in database for minority patient recruitment

Acurian, a leader in clinical trial patient recruitment and retention, announced today that its opted-in patient database is an effective resource for reaching minority populations for patient recruitment. Increasing minority participation is crucial for trial success and regulatory approval, especially for therapies intended to treat diseases with high incidence and prevalence rates among minorities.

“Our customers are eager to enroll minorities to ensure their trials represent diverse demographics. Through our opted-in database and e-recruitment initiatives, we have been very successful in reaching ethnically diverse patients in a timely manner.”

"There is often a lack of minority representation in clinical trials," said Scott Connor, Vice President of Marketing at Acurian. "Our customers are eager to enroll minorities to ensure their trials represent diverse demographics. Through our opted-in database and e-recruitment initiatives, we have been very successful in reaching ethnically diverse patients in a timely manner."

Despite a common misperception that minorities are reticent about trial clinical participation, Acurian has garnered high response rates to study opportunities among African American and Hispanic populations. The company's proprietary, opted-in patient database includes an optional ethnicity field, which allows the company to directly reach minorities. There are currently 5.7 million African Americans, 10.3 million people of Hispanic/Latino descent, and 2.5 million people of Asian descent in Acurian's database.

According to Connor, "We craft our outreach to appeal to the desired ethnic background. As a result we have seen minorities respond to our outreach efforts either in line with or in greater proportions than the general population. We are definitely debunking some common myths about minorities and clinical trials."

Acurian most recently recruited African Americans for a phase III hypertension study. The company utilized its patient database and launched a direct mail campaign to self-identified African Americans within driving distance of a participating research site. Acurian contributed 240 randomized hypertensive African Americans, or 36 percent of the total enrollment goal, enabling the clinical team to avoid an anticipated four-month delay had it relied solely on in-practice recruitment.