February’s Mission-minded Spotlight, Racial Equity Edition: Acclinate
Welcome back to my new spotlight series, “Mission-minded: Building for tomorrow.”
[In case you missed it, each month I’ll highlight an under-the-radar founder or company that’s building something that has the power to enact real change in our world. From my personal perspective and understanding, I’ll tell you why you should care about what they’re building, what makes them credible, and what I love about their story. Let’s dig in!]
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In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth, I’d like to elevate an issue that’s critically important if we want to center racial justice — health equity.
Meet Acclinate, a company that’s on a mission to increase #healthequity by making research more inclusive, helping pharmaceutical co.’s and healthcare orgs access and engage communities of color.
1) Why care? Martin Luther King Jr. said that “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.”
Data has proven that health outcomes for #BIPOC people are far more grim when compared to White individuals, and this is in part due to the lack of diversity data we have from clinical trials. Some examples:
– Black people have a 16% lower survival rate for lung cancer than White people (American Lung Association)
– Black Americans are 2x as likely as older Whites to have Alzheimer’s or another dementia (Alzheimer’s Association)
– Mortality rates for breast cancer are 40% higher for Black women, despite a 4% lower incident rate (New England Journal of Medicine)
This is just a snapshot, but the numbers tell a deeply concerning story.
2) What makes the co. credible? Acclimate has secured investment from Bronze Valley, is a part of the Google for Startups community and was also named one of Fast Company‘s “World Changing Ideas” in 2022. More so, they’ve partnered with the likes of Merck, Trialbee and Lightship to truly “walk the walk” and increase diversity in clinical trials.
3) What I love about their story? The two co-founders, who have each experienced health inequity in their own way, provide uniquely real and authentic perspectives. For Del Smith, PhD, all of the males on his father’s side passed away from cancer before age 50; he is the first to surpass this milestone, hence his desire to help others own decisions around their health. And for Tiffany Whitlow, it also hit close to home when her infant son was hospitalized for asthma and given albuterol, a drug that’s 47% less effective for African Americans and 67% less effective for Puerto Ricans. Together, they are working to educate diverse individuals to make sound health decisions for themselves, and to make the choice to participate in clinical trials, all by listening to people’s needs and building relationships.
We know Black history. But what about the future? With more eyes on companies like Acclinate, we can begin to change the narrative around health equity. THANK YOU, and please keep fighting for change!
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In case you missed January’s spotlight, learn more about Mission-Driven Tech, a company that’s building innovative solutions that normalize and modernize Cervical Health, here!