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A new project to explore and tackle barriers to age diversity in clinical trials is being launched by The International Longevity Centre.
It aims to end the concerning ‘evidential gap’ between younger and older trial participants and to reduce inappropriate prescribing in older age groups.
The project, which is supported by RBW Consulting, will examine current barriers to older people’s participation in clinical trials, which treatments this most likely affects, and how these barriers can be overcome.
The thinktank says that the issue of age discrimination in clinical trials has remained on the agenda of governments and regulators for many years. Even as clinical trials become more inclusive in recent decades, the representation of older patients still lags, even when testing medications that will predominantly be prescribed to older patients.
As medications and medical interventions get tested during trial phases, research shows approximately a third exclude people on the basis of their age. Statistics around the inclusion of over-65s and over-75s vary. Studies testing medicines specifically intended for older people tend to have more older participants than for medicines for all adults.
Older people might be adversely affected by drugs
Without sufficient evidence that medicines work for older cohorts, there is cause for concern that older people might be adversely affected by drugs and other medical interventions.
Esther McNamara, Senior Health Policy Lead at ILC said: “All too often it seems that medicines are not necessarily tested on the people that they are supposed to help. Is this because of important clinical or ethical reasons? Are there particular barriers to participation? Could arbitrary age-related barriers be a possible explanation for low participation rates, and, if so, how can we address this?
“Answers to such questions are important as we’re talking about medicines that any of us could be prescribed, especially as we get older. We are really interested in diverse perspectives on this issue – the more we know about how older people interact with clinical trials, the more we can ensure policy and practice in this area is more inclusive.”
ILC is convening an expert roundtable exploring the barriers to more diverse participation in clinical trials and the possible implications of this for the efficacy of trials and equity of healthcare outcomes. The intention is to report on this project before the end of March 2023.