Our mission is to accelerate the use of inclusive clinical research to achieve health equity! Mistrust thrives in ignorance!
Strategic Medical Associates (SMA) seeks to elevate the American population’s knowledge of drugs, biologics, medical devices, and vaccines as well as knowledge of their development processes. It is through these efforts we help improve patient representation in clinical trials that better align with the burden of diseases or conditions the products are designed to treat.
It is well-known that most clinical trial data supporting the approval and use of medications do not adequately represent the diversity of American disease sufferers. This constitutes a problem since racial and ethnic differences in response to many treatments have been known to frequently occur for many years.
The racial/ethnic majority population tends to be overrepresented in clinical trials of most FDA approved medications. In fact, nearly 80% of annually approved drugs lack sufficient clinical trials data to inform their safe and effective use in non-white patients. This is true despite non-white patients often being over-represented among the sufferers of many diseases yet underrepresented in the trials to evaluate potential treatments.
Gaps in data can lead to the routine use of unsafe or ineffective treatments in some patient groups contributing to health disparities in addition to major capital expenditures for healthcare.
Furthermore, clinical researchers can often be denied valuable insights gained from observations and exploration of response differences in clinical trials lacking diversity. Such observations can contribute to better overall understanding of diseases and their treatments to the benefit of all patients regardless of race and ethnicity.
On-Demand Physician Investigator Training:
We offer a program that recognizes the busy schedule of the physician-practitioner by making available comprehensive on-demand training programs to develop the skills of investigators for clinical trials of drugs and medical devices. This advanced course certification in Good Clinical Practices regulations in addition to CME credits.
Cultural Considerations Training:
We offer specialized training (on-demand) for physician-investigators and their support personnel on cultural considerations in the conduct of clinical trials. This training enhances their ability to engage disease sufferers from diverse cultures for clinical trial participation and retention.
Fundamentals of Clinical Drug Development for Multicultural Medicine:
Preparing the next generation of diverse health leaders to shape the future of equitable drug development.
The Fundamentals of Clinical Drug Development for Multicultural Medicine course gives students an immersive, behindthescenes look at how new medicines are discovered, tested, and made available for safe and effective patient use. Designed for emerging health science professionals, this collegelevel program follows the full journey of a therapeutic innovation—from early scientific concept and preclinical evaluation to human exposure, regulatory approval, and realworld use in multicultural populations.
Students explore the essentials of modern drug development, including:
Through expertled instruction and realworld case studies, learners gain a deep understanding of how scientific, business, and community considerations shape the development and use of drugs and biologics. The course emphasizes why multicultural perspectives are essential for advancing precision medicine and improving health outcomes across diverse populations.
Our mission is to educate and empower future healthcare leaders who can confidently navigate the clinical research landscape during their careers and serve as informed ambassadors within their communities. Students completing the program leave with industryvalued knowledge and skills, a strong ethical foundation, and a clear understanding of how innovative treatments move from the laboratory to the lives of patients.
This course is offered in collaboration with leading academic and clinical institutions committed to building a more diverse, futureready clinical research workforce.
Physician and Patient Demographic Database:
With the permission of our trained physicians, we establish and maintain a graphic representation of the demographics and disease characteristics of patients under their care. Combined with information regarding the respective physician’s training and experience, graphic representation is made available to industry sponsors to facilitate efficient site selection that optimizes for engagement of investigators and patients relevant to specific projects.
Clinical Trial Tracking and Alignment:
Implementing a system to continuously track clinical trials that align with physician expertise and patient access, enabling targeted outreach to sponsors.
Non-Investigator Physician Accelerator:
The NonInvestigator Physician Accelerator equips trusted community physicians with the knowledge and confidence to serve as informed ambassadors for clinical trials. While not every physician chooses to become an investigator, every physician can play a vital role in helping patients understand treatment innovations and make informed decisions about trial participation.
Participants learn how modern clinical research works, how trials are conducted in their communities, and how to communicate opportunities to patients with clarity and trust. This training enhances patient care, strengthens shared decision-making, and positions physicians as credible resources in an increasingly complex research landscape.
To support robust and inclusive enrollment, SMA maintains a national network that connects trained Accelerators with clinical trial investigators and sponsors seeking community-based engagement. This creates new professional opportunities for physicians while helping sponsors reach diverse populations more effectively.
The Accelerator builds physician influence, improves patient understanding, and advances equitable awareness and access to clinical innovation.
Infrastructure Development:
SMA leverages its expertise and network of clinical research professionals to address the needs of new investigators for mentors in addition to addressing infrastructure needs and assisting development of clinical trial capabilities.
