b'Medicine & ResearchAANNeewwMMooddeellffoorrIInncclluussiivviittyyiinnRReesseeaarrcchh::GGeenneetteecchhssCCHHIIMMEESSSSttuuddyyEditors Note: Genetech, makers of Ocrevus, recognized a lack of diversity in the pivotaltrials for their MS treatment, and decided to do something about it. Here we interivew Dr. JuanAcosta, Senior Medical Director Neuroscience, U.S. Medical Aairs at Genentech, to learn moreabout this new eort. 1. What is CHIMES and what was the motivation behind it?MS aects everyone living with it dierentlyfrom the age of onset, how fast the diseaseprogresses, to the severity of symptoms. But minority communities living with MS, includingthose who self-identify as Black or being of African descent, as well as Hispanic or Latino,experience more severe symptoms and faster progression than their Caucasian counterparts.Self-identied Black people or those of African descent also have twice the risk of MS comparedto Caucasians, while self-identied Hispanic/Latinos have half the risk. While the scienticcommunity isnt certain why such differences exist for minorities living with MS, manyresearchers point to social disadvantages and disparities in healthcare as potential factors.Another reason why dierences in MS in minority groups arent well-understood is that thesepopulations are vastly under-represented in clinical trials. CHIMES (which stands for Characterization of Ocrelizumab in Minorities with MultipleSclerosis) is the rst-ever clinical trial that aims to derive insights on disease progression inorder to better tailor care for specic minority populations living with MS. 2. What were the special considerations in your study design?CHIMES was developed in collaboration with people living with MS, patient advocacygroups, and neurologists to help ensure that study results will provide tangible insights usefulto people with MS and those treating it. As part of this, weve made enrollment criteria a bitmore exible, are translating clinical materials to Spanish, and have involved MS centers thatserve large minority patient populations. 3. Where are you in the process?The CHIMES trial is currently enrolling participants across the United States, with the goalof completing this process within 12 to 18 months. We enrolled our rst patient in July 2020.4. Are there challenges involved in recruitment? How are you tackling those challenges?Were pleased with trial site initiation and recruitment across the U.S. and look forward tosharing ndings from this important study in the future. Clinical trials are important because they oer people with serious and life-threateningdiseases a chance to receive investigational medicines that have the potential to improvemsfocusmagazine.org 38'