'Health equity is a business imperative:' Companies work for better Black health outcomes
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Health business leaders discussed how their companies work to achieve health equity at a panel discussion Wednesday, arguing health equity is good for businesses and society.
Their remarks came at the "State of Black Health: What Now," the second annual summit by BlackDoctor.org (BDO), hosted in collaboration with USA TODAY.
On the panel "Health Equity is a Business Imperative," moderated by Charisse Jones, USA TODAY's money and consumer news editor, leaders from Gilead Sciences, JPMorgan Chase and Eisai US spoke about opportunities to advance health equity through HIV medicine innovation, digital health investments and clinical trials.
"We really have to lean into how health equity impacts business... really reframing it, it's not about a social imperative, it is about a business imperative," said Rashad Burgess, vice president of U.S. advocacy and health equity at biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, at the event. "There's a lot that's happening outside of this room that has a lot of our attention. What's true is that Black communities need us."
More:Nearly half of health care workers have witnessed racism, discrimination, report shows
Building equal representation in clinical trials about more than health equity
Shobha Dhadda, chief clinical science and operations officer at pharmaceutical company Eisai US, said representation is important for clinical trials, as people from different ages and races react differently to drugs.
Jones pointed out that the Black community has a fraught history with the medical establishment.
"We realized the very first step that we had to take was to build trust and credibility with the community," Dhadda said, describing a trial related to Alzheimer's disease. "That was our biggest hurdle."
Explaining her company's approach, Dhadda said they sought out doctors who were treating diverse populations, chose locations that were embedded in populations they were hoping to work with to make it easier for the participants, and provided educational materials on the importance of the trials.
Boom in AI, weight loss drugs should have health equity in mind
Brandon Batiste, vice president of healthcare innovation at JPMorgan Chase, is focused on employer-provided healthcare. He said some of the biggest conversations he has been hearing about healthcare delivery trends from the last couple of years are about artificial intelligence and GLP-1s, obesity and diabetes drugs like Ozempic.
"I will say that across all themes, the big piece that's been missing has been health equity," Batiste said, pointing out that health equity is an untapped area of investment in the digital health space. "When we talk about the business imperative, it is there. It does exist. We're just not having as many conversations about what that means when we look at the brass tacks."
HIV drug innovation could alleviate racial discrepancies
Burgess described how the company's promising findings on a new HIV prevention treatment could help address some racial health discrepancies.
Black communities make up the majority of new HIV diagnoses, while only 14% are on PrEP, an HIV prevention medication, Burgess said.
"The issue is around adherence and is around stigma," he said, explaining that people may not want others to discover they are taking the daily PrEP pill.
Gilead has submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for lenacapavir for PreP, an injectable dose that is taken twice annually and therefore is able to be done more discreetly.
"They are able to have anonymity and privacy in doing that, he said. "This is a game changer."
The company is expecting an answer later this year.
BlackDoctor.org is a leader in Black health, connecting culturally relevant health and wellness information to empower consumers. USA TODAY is a sponsor of their second-annual summit.
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