Commitment to Clinical Trial Diversity

As a pioneer in brain health, Lundbeck understands that brain diseases wreak havoc without bias. Millions of people across the globe, from all backgrounds and ethnicities, are impacted by psychiatric and neurological diseases. With a 70+-year history developing innovative treatments for brain diseases, we are keenly aware of the many obstacles that can prevent an individual from achieving brain health. Whether it be genetics, age, race, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomics or access to healthcare, understanding and fully evaluating the multitude of factors that influence a person’s health are key to both the development of good medicine and equitable advances in brain health.

At Lundbeck, we strive to improve the quality of life of all people living with brain diseases. We collaborate with the best minds in brain science to advance research and novel therapies. Cooperation across the health ecosystem ensures we incorporate a broad range of perspectives and approaches into our research programs. But we recognize that there is more we can—and must—do to ensure our work is equitable and our medicines are impactful for all people in need. Building an inclusive clinical trials infrastructure, one that reflects the full diversity of the intended treatment population, is an important step toward combatting health inequities and racial disparities in brain health.

Clinical trials for central nervous system disorders are high risk and fail at higher rates than other disease areas. Lundbeck has never shied away from this challenge, even redoubling our efforts as other companies have withdrawn from the space. We now bring the same level of commitment to improving diversity in our clinical trials because it is true to our Purpose of restoring brain health, so every person can be their best.

Lundbeck is committed to implementing the following strategies and has invested in systems to monitor, track, and implement. To guide our efforts, the Lundbeck Diversity Steering Team will assess and drive efforts in this area and monitor our progress against the Lundbeck Clinical Trial Diversity Principles:

• Develop & Execute a Clear Strategy to Achieve Diversity in Our Trials Globally
  We aim for each trial to be designed with intention to ensure participants mirror the full diversity of the patient population in the country or region AND the disease we are studying. This will require a concentrated effort to involve underrepresented populations in our marketed regions through focused patient-inclusion criteria; attention to the diversity of clinical trial sites and investigators; removal of barriers that could impede the participation of certain groups in clinical trials; and use of real-world data to inform development efforts and improve understanding of diseases and products.
  
• Collaborate with Patient Advocacy Groups Choosing to Make Diversity a Priority
  Lundbeck has a longstanding focus on community outreach, and we are committed to expanding partnerships with organizations that possess a like-minded focus on diversity. In collaboration with external partners, we strive to establish trust with diverse patient and caregiver populations, gain deeper insight into unmet patient needs and build awareness about open clinical trials to further enhance the diversity of our clinical trials.
• Implement Integrated Oversight Approach to Inform, Analyze and Act
  Lundbeck aims to continuously inform and reform our internal thinking and processes by actively monitoring clinical trial diversity targets and utilizing real-world data to ensure we are driving inclusion of underrepresented populations in our clinical trials.

Learn more about our commitment to diversity in brain research:

• We are signees to the PhRMA Principles on Conduct of Clinical Trials & Communication of Clinical Trial Results, the first-ever industry wide principles on clinical trial diversity. Learn more here.
• Information about ongoing Lundbeck clinical trials is available here.
• Lundbeck’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion framework is available here.
• From our Newsroom: The True Face of Migraine. A group of migraine advocates, with support from Lundbeck, is working to raising awareness of racial disparities and address implicit bias in migraine medicine, research and advocacy. Learn more here.
• From our Newsroom: Building a Culture of Mental Health for Black Men and Boys. As a company committed to reducing the stigma of mental illness, Lundbeck is a proud supporter of efforts to address stigma and racial disparities in mental healthcare. Learn more here.