Patient Input Needed: Clinical Trial Design

As part of their Commitment to Patients and Caregivers, our partners at Novartis are working to make the clinical trial experience more patient-centric and widely accessible. To this goal, they are currently seeking melanoma patients who have participated in a clinical trial in the past two years and who are interested in serving on an advisory board. This board would offer the patient perspective and important feedback on what can be done to improve clinical trial design, whether digital tools could be helpful to support clinical trial participation, and what barriers exist in making trials more accessible to diverse patient populations. This meeting would take place in New Jersey on Thursday, August 9 and participants will be compensated for their time and travel expenses.

Novartis seeks to assemble a diverse group of patients and has reached out to the MRF to identify those in the melanoma community that may be interested. If you have participated in a clinical trial in the past two years and would like to be considered for this opportunity, please email MRF Community Engagement Manager Cassie Beisel at [email protected] and include the following information:

• Location of your clinical trial
• Was the trial in an academic center or community-based setting?
• Was the trial a Novartis trial? (not a requirement, other trials are eligible)
• Optional: to promote a diversity of perspectives, organizers are seeking patients from a wide variety of backgrounds. The following information is requested, but not required:
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Geographic location: Urban/Rural

Responses must be received by Wednesday, July 11. Selected applicants will then be contacted and connected with organizers at Novartis to arrange travel and other details for the meeting.

Thank you for helping to advance the clinical trial process and improve patient experiences and outcomes!