Novartis and the Novartis US Foundation have announced a planned 10-year collaboration with Coursera, the National Medical Association, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Morehouse School of Medicine and 26 additional Historically Black Colleges, Universities and Medical Schools (HBCUs) to co-create programs that address the root causes of systemic disparities in health outcomes and create greater diversity, equity and inclusion across the research and development ecosystem.
Working together with the communities they aim to impact, the collaboration will focus on increasing clinical trial and clinical trial investigator diversity; addressing inherent bias in the data standards used to diagnose and treat disease; and finding actionable solutions to environmental and climate issues that disproportionately affect health among communities of color.
Over an initial period of ten years, the collaboration will focus on four key areas:
All parties will spend the next six months co-creating programs with the communities, including establishing the first clinical trial, data standards, and environment, climate, and health research centers at Morehouse School of Medicine.