Celebrating the continued impact of the patient voice in BMS’ drug development
Earlier this year, Bristol Myers Squibb celebrated the fourth anniversary since the launch of the Patient Expert Engagement Resource (PEER) program.
As a first of its kind collaboration with experts at patient advocacy organizations, PEER systematically and consistently incorporates professional patient perspectives throughout the drug discovery and development process. “One of my proudest moments at BMS was the launch of the PEER program. Through the insights of the patient community, we can better understand the impact that our studies have on the lives of patients and on the overall healthcare infrastructure,” said Samit Hirawat, executive vice president, chief medical officer, Drug Development for BMS.
• Hello and welcome to Bristol Myers Squibb
• We are committed to transforming patients’ lives through science.
• However, to achieve our mission, we can’t work alone. Partners are critical. We need to do this work together, from local community organizations, patient advocacy groups, healthcare agencies and with the support from policies that improve access to care.
• Our long-standing partnerships with patients and advocacy groups help us to keep the dialogue moving and to drive critical research forward.
• That’s why in 2020, we launched our Patient Expert Engagement Resource, or PEER, one of the first programs of its kind. As part of our Global Patient Outreach organization, PEER aims to weave perspectives from patient communities worldwide into every step of drug discovery and development, including clinical trial design.
• During early-stage development, PEER input guides our strategies like optimizing drug design and delivery to better serve patient needs. This means that the voice of the patient is represented in inclusion and exclusion criteria, study design, as well as ensuring data readouts are easier to understand.
• In fact, since PEER launched, all clinical trial protocols across BMS are eligible to receive this patient expert input, and it is mandatory for all Phase 3 trials before moving forward.
• This allows us to be more confident that our therapies, if approved, will have the best opportunity to treat as many patients as possible and help get us closer to our goals of eliminating geographical, racial, or social health equity disparities that come from underrepresented drug development programs.
• Together, we’re improving the lives of patients in need.
Since the inception of the PEER program in 2020, BMS has collaborated with over 120 patient advocacy organizations on a range of insight gathering activities with a bold mandate that all Phase 3 clinical trial protocols receive PEER feedback.
And the feedback has made a real difference in our clinical trials. For example, recently, the inclusion criteria of a key trial protocol were amended based on the feedback received by Canada-based Save your Skin Foundation, a patient-led not for profit group dedicated to the fight against non-melanoma skin cancers, melanoma, and ocular melanoma. In another example from the UK, feedback from two organizations resulted in changes to informed consent and assent documents for a study in Crohn’s disease. The PEER feedback received not only produced more patient-friendly clinical trial documents, but also satisfied regulatory requirements for inclusion of patient voice set by the UK Health Research Authority.
“PEER sits at the intersection of cutting-edge science, innovation and the patient perspective,” said Steven Unger, senior director, Patient Experience and PEER Program Lead at BMS. “Our partners at patient advocacy groups not just represent patient communities, but also have sophisticated capabilities, oftentimes conducting critical research and tapping into diverse or underrepresented patient populations. Ensuring they have a seat at the table throughout development benefits and accelerates research, ultimately helping future patients."
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About Bristol Myers Squibb
Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. As global citizens, we work sustainably and responsibly to create a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.
