DEERFIELD, Ill. — Ramita Tandon joined Walgreens in 2021 to lead the retail pharmacy chain’s new clinical trials business, launched with the lofty goal of redefining the patient experience and increasing patient access and retention in drug development research.

Tandon brought extensive experience in the health care and life sciences industry to her new position, including leading roles in the clinical trials businesses at Trip Health, where she served as chief operating officer, and ICON, in the role of executive vice president, commercialization and outcomes.

“Following a 25-year career building and leading CRO (contract research organization) and RWE (real world evidence) organizations to challenge and drive change in the clinical development process, I took the courageous step to join Walgreens – one of the largest drug store chains in the U.S.,” says Tandon. “Since then I have been working with my team to build and lead the company’s patient-centric, equitable clinical research enterprise as a way to lead the transformation to bring trials to all communities.”

One benefit of clinical trials is that they provide a path for bringing patients in underserved communities into the health care system, she says. At Walgreens, Tandon sees an opportunity to bring change to a clinical trials infrastructure that heavily tilts toward white trial populations in centralized ZIP codes at large health care institutions.

Ramita Tandon

“Considering that less than 5% of the U.S. population participates in clinical research — and of this cohort, 75% are white – it’s clear we need to find better ways to get patients into trials,” Tandon says. “Addressing these industrywide access and diversity issues, as well as logistical barriers, lack of diversity in trials leadership, and systemic societal factors, will require us to completely change the paradigm of care. I believe a promising avenue for improving these trends is using community pharmacies to conduct patient recruitment efforts and certain trial activities.”

A daughter of immigrant parents from India, Tandon was born in rural Ohio. “Growing up, I saw that access to health care was not as sophisticated as it was in other parts of the country, and disparities and inequities among the medically unsupported limited access for so many who needed care,” she says. “Today, we are witnessing a fundamental paradigm shift in our health care ecosystem. We are more focused on the consumer and reimagining the way we can deliver health care services to improve patients’ health outcomes and increase access to care.”

Walgreens is actively listening to the voices of those underrepresented in research and demonstrating how clinical trials may be a viable care option for them,” Tandon says.

“I firmly believe these grassroots efforts combined with our national footprint, pharmacy care teams, health care assets and a 120-plus-year legacy of care will directly improve the pervasive access and diversity issues that continue to impact participation rates in research.

“We know that the approach will not be one-size-fits-all. We continue to face challenges with health literacy, transportation, work and life responsibilities, as well as trust and fear, among our communities. However, a doorway to improving access for patients who have traditionally been left out of research is active community engagement, whether directly at home, virtually or in person. Moving the needle on access and equity will take an ecosystem of partners. Together, we must commit to raising industry standards in health equity and access to clinical trials. We also must begin rethinking the system, not reactively adjusting. It’s time to talk less and do more.”