American Medical Association Advocates for More Women and Gender Minority Populations in Clinical Trials

The American Medical Association has announced its dedication to including women and sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations in clinical pharmacology trials, thereby ensuring medications are safe and effective for their use.

According to the American Medical Association, women and SGM populations have been historically left out of crucial drug trials. As a result, these groups experience significantly more adverse drug effects than cisgender men.

In a recent annual meeting, the American Medical Association established a new policy that encourages the professional organization and its members to support the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in developing clinical trial diversity action plans that include women and SGM populations. Additionally, the policy calls on the National Institutes of Health to fund post-market research investigating previous pharmacological and medical trials that did not adequately include women or underrepresented SGM populations.

“The lack of participation of women and SGM in clinical trials has clear impacts on the care these populations receive. Despite changes in the regulatory environment, inequities in clinical trial participation and outcomes persist today,” said Dr. Toluwalase Ajayi, board member of the American Medical Association. “We commend the FDA’s work to date and we are committed to furthering efforts to improve equity in patient outcomes.”