Increasing Access to People of African Descent in Pharma: Interview with Peju Oshisanya

Peju Oshisanya joins Kelly Ritch, EVP of Product and Clinical Research Solutions at ArcheMedX, to discuss diversity and inclusion in clinical trials. An experienced clinical operations specialist and a strong advocate for data diversity, Peju shares her insight into the health sciences industry, evaluates opportunities for improvement, and illuminates the path forward.

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Peju Oshisanya

Peju Oshisanya is a Director and Clinical Program Leader at BenevolentAI. With more than 20 years in the drug research industry, Peju is an expert in pharmaceutical organization. Her career has run the gamut from early roles as a clinical trial associate to extensive experience running a wide range of global clinical research programs. In her role at BenevolentAI, she pairs her biomedical science background with further perspective from the tech side.

Peju is a passionate proponent of diversity in data and inclusion in clinical trial research. She believes that problems of diversity and inclusion are fixable, and she has determined to become a champion of that change, working to raise awareness and dedicating her own career to upend the status quo.

Episode Highlights

• Peju’s “aha” moment that drove home the magnitude of inequity in biopharma, health, and clinical trials
• Why it’s crucial to really understand the communities that we want to include in research
• How decision-makers’ personal perspectives influence which diseases are prioritized and which treatments are funded
• Why representation needs to extend to the experts rather than stopping with the patient population
• Why it’s misleading and counter-productive to frame populations using the term “minority”
• How helping patients understand the importance of research in informing treatments can help motivate participation
• The huge potential opportunity Africa represents for clinical trials
• The problem of perception when it comes to African institutions’ preparedness
• How mining past data can create a self-perpetuating cycle that prevents capable sites from becoming experienced sites
• What we can do to help ameliorate diverse patient populations’ trust in the healthcare industry
• How anyone, regardless of their role within a company, can take steps to influence diversity in research
• How the pandemic has signaled hope for diversity and inclusion going forward

Resources:

Peju Oshisanya on LinkedIn
BenevolentAI
Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series