How Merck Is Embedding Representation Into Clinical Trial Execution

*Editor’s note: Mentioned at approximately 6:38 of the video, the correct figure is in 2020, 18 new cancer drugs were approved by the FDA, yet only 11% of clinical trial participants were Black or Hispanic

Full interview summary

In an exclusive video interview with Applied Clinical Trials, Adrelia Allen, executive director of clinical trial patient diversity at Merck, discussed how Merck is approaching the longstanding challenge of underrepresentation in clinical research—through its Let's Talk Trials initiative, internal accountability structures, and a philosophy of sustained community engagement that extends well beyond individual trial timelines.

Interviewed by ACT EAB member and clinical research recruitment and inclusion executive and strategist, Rebecca Johnson, PhD, Allen opened by emphasizing that diversity in clinical trials is not a new priority at Merck, predating FDA's diversity action plan requirements, and that the work has been deliberately embedded into how clinical trials are executed rather than treated as a standalone initiative.

Allen described Let's Talk Trials as a direct response to persistent gaps in both interest and access to clinical trial information, noting that of the 18 new cancer drugs approved by the FDA in 2020, only 11% of trial participants were Black or Hispanic. The initiative offers accessible, myth-busting information through digital and in-person channels, with community presence at events like the Essence Festival and the Congressional Black Caucus. With over 20 million impressions in less than a year, Allen pointed to reach as one key metric—while also citing Acclinate's work touching over 233,000 participants as evidence of what trust-building at scale can look like in practice.

On trust, Allen drew on a personal example—her father delaying his own care out of fear of being treated as a guinea pig—to underscore that listening with compassion and providing transparent information about participant rights is foundational, not supplemental, to the work. She also highlighted the Beacon of Hope initiative, a Novartis-led collaboration that has successfully placed clinical trials at two HBCU medical schools over four years, as a concrete example of what cross-sponsor, community-centered partnership can achieve.

Allen closed by identifying protocol design and site selection as the operational levers with the greatest impact on representation, while acknowledging that navigating policy constraints around participant support remains the hardest barrier to address in practice. Looking ahead, she expressed confidence that sustained, intentional effort—not one-time programs—will determine whether the industry makes meaningful progress over the next five years.