ICON has launched the Patient-Centric Protocol Risks Assessment Tool—Rare Diseases V2.0 as part of our Patient-Centric Trial Development Toolkit. Freely available to anyone, the tool aims to help those involved in the design and management of clinical trials in rare diseases. It identifies common risks that may exist and affect participants’ ability to enrol and remain in a trial.

• We build trust with under-served patient communities by diversifying the make-up of our Accellacare Site Network clinical site staff. We host local events and offer free health services. We partner with community-based institutions to build our credibility and engage key influencers in specific communities as important research partners.
• We simplify participation using services such as digital health technologies and in-home visits to make it easier for people to participate in clinical trials. We recommend a critical evaluation of the protocol to ensure it is challenged for broad inclusion. We also proactively reduce the logistical and financial burdens of trial participation.
• We focus our conversations with sites on how they plan to recruit for their unique demography and ensure we can provide the tools they need. We drive outreach activity by developing awareness campaigns across different advertising platforms.
• We factor patient feedback into the development of recruitment materials, which feature plain language and use images and messaging reflective of under-represented populations.
• We refine our approach using real world data to evaluate diverse patient population samples at or near sites. We also host paid focus groups, led by diverse persons, to enhance our understanding of unique barriers to clinical trial participation faced by the targeted demographic. We continually seek feedback on any procedures and criteria that may hinder enrolment for any given subgroup.

ICON’s DIB Operating Committee hosted its first-ever Global Inclusion Day in 2022. Employees came together virtually and in person to participate in thought-provoking activities, share their thoughts on inclusion and offer suggestions for how to become more inclusive of others. Watch the video on inclusion at ICON here.

ICON received 370 nominations from across the world for our annual charity donation program, which encourages employees to submit causes that matter to them. From these nominees, ICON selected 10 charities to each receive $10,000. In 2022, we made an additional donation of $25,000 to the Children of Heroes charity fund in Ukraine, supporting children who have been severely impacted by the war. 

In 2022, we expanded our industry-academia partnerships through the creation of a new ICON scholarship program. This program provides greater opportunities for underrepresented groups to study STEM subjects. For the 2022/2023 academic year, ICON is funding 33 scholarships for STEM course students in partnership with three universities in Ireland (Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin and the University of Limerick) and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund in the US. The latter is a not-for-profit organisation that supports nearly 300,000 students attending its 47 member schools, including publicly supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).