Crossing Australia’s Great Health Divide

The Checkmate-648 Study began in November 2018, with three clinical trial sites activated in Australia. Due to the small number of patients living with advanced disease and able to participate in clinical trials, there were five Australian patients enrolled. Markedly, three of the  participants were from regional Queensland. Townsville Hospital was an original regional trial site and the inclusion of Cairns Hospital as a teletrial site was successful in recruiting a further patient from this Far Northern Queensland city.

Dr Suresh Varma, Principal Investigator for Checkmate-648 at Townsville Hospital explained, “Prior to the teletrials model, it would be usual to include only one North Queensland site in a clinical trial. Townsville and Cairns are some 346 kilometres apart, and so this patient would previously have needed to travel a vast distance to participate in the trial. The new model allows patients from a much wider geographical area to have equitable access to clinical trials and provides the opportunity to access new treatments for their advanced cancer that they may not have previously been available to them.”

“Patients have been very enthusiastic about contributing to future generations of oncology patients through their involvement in research,” continued Dr Varma. “They feel empowered when the option to participate in a clinical trial is available to them. Even if they choose not to take part, patients understand that the team here is committed to gaining increased access to clinical trials for all Australians including those from regional, rural and remote regions, who previously may not have had the option.”

Expanding the commitment to regional and rural patients

The global COVID-19 pandemic has put a magnifying glass on social and health disparities throughout the world. Globally, the company has committed a combined US $300 million from Bristol Myers Squibb and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation to reach underserved populations and address racial inequity, which includes investment in more accessible and equitable clinical trials to drive better patient outcomes. Here in Australia, the team at Bristol Myers Squibb focused on addressing these disparities while continuing to build clinical trial diversity.

The company will expand the reach of its clinical trial programs in regional Australia and is utilising the teletrials model in its Checkmate-76K Study, which compares treatments for the prevention of recurrent disease after surgery for stage IIB/C melanoma. The study, which aims to enrol 104 patients will include regional sites across Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.

Neil MacGregor, Managing Director of Bristol Myers Squibb Australia and New Zealand, said “Including regional Australian sites and the teletrials model in our clinical trial program plays a major role in increasing our clinical trial footprint. We expect this investment will provide a gateway for Australia’s geographically diverse populations to access more clinical trials and, as an extension, improve outcomes for those living in rural and regional areas and across all populations impacted by the diseases we research and the patients who need our medicines.”