FasterCures’ work, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, identified numerous challenges in both the publicly and privately funded research ecosystems that make it difficult for established players to sustain and scale efforts to move research opportunities closer to communities—to make an “ecosystem of excellence” out of “islands of pilots.” We have highlighted solutions that could help create efficiencies, improve connectivity among research stakeholders, and better serve the needs of community partners.   

As with previous issue briefs in this series, FasterCures conducted research and held a virtual dialogue to explore strategies for democratizing access to clinical research and continuing to foster more person-centric, inclusive clinical trials. Several themes are emerging:

• Proven players and pathways exist for engaging participants in research and improving community health. The clinical research ecosystem needs to “catch up with the community” and sustainably engage and support them.

• New players are creating opportunities to engage participants in a more data-driven, personalized way, offering access to research and health care to individuals who have historically been excluded from clinical trials.

• Nontraditional partners are offering unique insight into patients’ experiences and priorities and are adding value for them to participate in research. 

• New platforms and systems allow us to identify and prioritize outcomes that matter most to patients, capture those outcomes in clinical trials and regulatory processes, and design research that is accessible to broader populations.

•  We need to make the business case—and those with the money and power in the system need to sign on—to make this movement a reality.