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Medicines in Development for African Americans
America’s pharmaceutical research companies are developing 691 medicines for diseases that disproportionately afflict African Americans or diseases that are among the top 10 causes of death among African Americans. These medicines will help close the health disparity between African Americans and the rest of the population. The potential medicines are either in clinical trials or awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
The medicines in development include:
- 229 medicines for cancers that disproportionately affect African Americans. According to the American Cancer Society, African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined. They have higher death rates for colorectal, male lung, female breast, and prostate cancers. In fact, African American men may have the highest incidence rate of prostate cancer in the world, and their death rate is twice as high as that of white American men. The medicines in the pipeline target cancers of the breast, cervix, colon/rectum, lung, prostate, and uterus.
- 114 medicines designed to treat cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure, and hypertension. According to the American Heart Association, African Americans have the highest prevalence rate of high blood pressure in the world.
- 95 medicines in development for diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, African Americans are nearly two times more likely to have diabetes compared with whites.
- 77 medicines for respiratory disorders, including asthma. According to the American Lung Association, African Americans have the highest asthma rate of any other racial and ethnic group. They are also three times more likely to die from asthma than whites.
- 67 medicines that target HIV infection. Although the overall estimated numbers of new HIV infections are decreasing, African Americans accounted for 49 percent of cases of HIV infection diagnosed in 2005, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other medicines in development tackle kidney disease, glaucoma, obesity, and sickle cell disease.
The reasons for the health disparity between African Americans and other Americans are complex and not completely understood. Lack of access to medical care is thought to play a role. African Americans, and all Americans, should have timely access to the medicines their physicians believe would work best for them.
These 691 medicines in development by America’s pharmaceutical research companies may one day help bridge the health gap and increase the likelihood that all Americans will share in the benefits of medical progress.
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