December 31, 2009 Contact: Carol McKay, National Consumers League (412) 408-3688 or carolm@nclnet.org Washington, DC–In response to the carriage dispute between Times Warner Cable and Fox, the National Consumers League’s […]
Counterfeit drugs may not have the same active ingredients as the real thing. They may also be produced in unsanitary conditions. Counterfeits could actually make you MORE ill.
December 22, 2009 Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org Washington, DC–In response to the approval of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger by British regulators, the public interest and live event industry members of the TicketDisaster.org coalition […]
December 16, 2009 Six years and NOT counting: alcohol and calories, that is Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org Washington, DC– A coalition of public interest groups today reminded Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that it […]
December 16, 2009 Contact: John Breyault, NCL (202) 207-2819, johnb@nclnet.org orShannon Flaherty, National Association of Ticket Brokers, (202) 425-2404, sflaherty@theheraldgroup.com Washington, DC–Joined by Members of Congress, leading public interest advocates and live event […]
December 11, 2009 Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org Washington, DC–Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging renewal of its efforts to prevent consumers from […]
The National Consumers League has again called on the Food and Drug Administration to renew its efforts to prevent consumers from being misled by deceptive labeling of processed fruit and […]
December 8, 2009 Consumer advocate and Ob/Gyn team up to address questions and concerns Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org Washington, DC–Citing the special vulnerability of pregnant women to the H1N1 virus […]
December 3, 2009 Testimony of Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the […]
December 2, 2009 Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org Washington, D.C.- Five of the nation’s most prominent public interest groups, including the National Consumers League (NCL), the American Antitrust Institute, the Consumer […]
The work of the National Consumers League is making a difference in people’s lives across the country. Meet some of the consumers touched by our programs.
Read about NCL’s impact
Paige, 55, a Nashville wife and mother of two, answered an employment ad for secret shoppers. Before sending payment to the scammers, she reached out to NCL.
Read about NCL’s impact
A grease fire flared up in Decklan’s kitchen. As his family scrambled and panicked, fearing that the whole house might erupt in flames, Decklan remained calm. He hurried over to the pantry, grabbed some baking soda, and dumped it on the fire quickly extinguishing the blaze.
Read about NCL’s impact
Cincinnati resident Charles, 45, lost his computer business — and health insurance— during a time of economic downturn. A diabetic, Charles was now unable to afford his medication. He stopped taking it which made him seriously ill and put his life at risk.
Read about NCL’s impact
Jeremy is a fast-food worker who has been employed at a number of Chipotle restaurants in New York City. When he was just 20 years old, he took part in an NCL research project that revealed that management practices within the fast food chain were putting workers—and food safety for customers—at risk.
Read about NCL’s impact
By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to hardship for all Americans, it is clear that people of color have been disproportionately burdened. Across the health care continuum, addressing this disparity has become part of the broader conversation about the history of systemic racism and the underlying social determinants of health that negatively affect the mental, physical, and economic health of individuals and entire communities.
The pandemic has underscored persistent health disparities, and there is growing recognition that representation in research and clinical trials can have a profound impact on health outcomes. A lack of representation from racially and ethnically diverse groups in research and clinical trials have typically led to gaps in data, missing the opportunity to assess the full impact of various treatments and drugs across a range of populations. The collection and use of real-world research and data to inform the potential use, risks, and benefits of medical products and treatments can ultimately lead to better health outcomes, particularly for those who have been underrepresented in the past.
Existing efforts to improve inclusion
Efforts to expand diversity and representation in medical research are underway in Congress. Policymakers are encouraging the incorporation of Real World Evidence (RWE) in drug development through the recent Cures 2.0 draft legislation released by Reps. Diana Degette (D-CO-1) and Fred Upton (D-MI-6). While the status quo limits us from effectively reaching underserved populations, the proposed legislation would allow studies that include RWE for some drugs after they have been approved. At the heart of this issue is a growing appreciation that the same therapy can affect different populations in different ways, which is why Cures 2.0 supports collecting data that more accurately reflects the unique experiences and needs of patients across diverse populations.
Recognizing the potential for RWE in maternal health
The lack of representative research in the field of maternal health is undeniable, and its implications are staggering. The dismal state of maternal care in the United States reflects how our health care system has failed women of color, including by not adequately studying treatment options to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality. The need for RWE is clear when you consider the persistent disparities in health outcomes that plague minority communities.
Preterm birth and its disproportionate impact on women of color is a stark illustration of the need to make progress on representative research in maternal health. Preterm birth is the second-largest contributor to infant death in America today. Despite the tremendous physical, emotional, and financial toll that preterm birth continues to take on our country — disproportionately so on women and families of color — not enough therapeutic tools currently exist to prevent it.
Today, “17P,” the only FDA-approved treatment to help reduce the likelihood of spontaneous, recurrent preterm birth in the United States is at-risk of being withdrawn from the market in all its forms, including the branded product and five generic versions. Unfortunately there is conflicting evidence from two different clinical trials, one representative of a diverse U.S. population and another studied in a largely white population in Europe. It’s not a straightforward comparison. If 17P is withdrawn, the women most affected by preterm birth, predominantly women of color, would be left without an FDA-approved treatment option.
The FDA is considering the path forward, including additional data collection through leveraging RWE from past patient use. The success of the first (approval) trial for 17P in the impacted communities signals the importance of RWE. Continued access to 17P is, at its core, a matter of health equity. Black women must not yet again be left vulnerable to a system that historically has overlooked them.
