Creating an Equitable Future for Lupus Patients: Lauren Powell

Lauren Powell brings both professional expertise and personal purpose to her work at Biogen. As Head of Health Equity and Clinical Innovation, she is helping to embed equity directly into drug development to help ensure that therapies reach the patients who need them most.

Learn more about Lauren and how her team is helping to reduce disparities and improve outcomes for people living with lupus.

What role does the health equity team play across Biogen?

We strategically embed health equity at every critical step – from the earliest stages of development through to commercialization – recognizing that meaningful impact requires collaboration beyond a single group. We partner closely to embed health equity into field medical engagement, therapeutic area strategies, and prelaunch planning, with a strong focus on lupus and kidney disease. Our goal is to ensure that when Biogen delivers breakthrough science, it can also reach underserved and underrepresented communities.

What are some of the health equity challenges that the lupus community is currently facing?

The challenges are multifold. It extends beyond the time a patient spends with a healthcare provider and is shaped by social determinants of health like food insecurity, housing stability, and access to transportation. For people living with a chronic illness like lupus, these barriers are often compounded, especially when frequent medical visits are required. It can be physically and emotionally taxing, impacting overall health outcomes. 

What are the biggest unmet needs in developing medicines for lupus?

I think the greatest unmet need within lupus is ensuring that therapies are accessible to the patients that need them most. Beyond the current gaps in treatment options, there are also critical gaps in awareness, access, and trust; many patients are not informed that new options exist, don’t see themselves reflected in clinical research, or lack confidence that therapies are meant for them. Addressing these gaps is essential to closing disparities and ensuring that scientific advances translate into real-world impact for people living with lupus.

What does equitable patient enrollment in clinical trials mean to you?

Equitable patient enrollment starts with helping people understand what clinical trials really are—and making those trials accessible. Not everyone lives near an academic medical center, so if we rely only on those sites, it limits who can participate. To me, the solution is bringing clinical trials closer to patients—rather than continuously asking patients to come closer to us.

We have to diversify and think about different sites, different site strategies, and even explore mobile health units to ensure that our clinical trials include the patient population. I think it’s so important to really shape clinical trials as an experience, not just as something to participate in. 

Why is collaboration important for greater equity in lupus care?

It’s essential that we truly understand the lived experiences of the patients we serve, especially in lupus. Our health equity team is a connector across Biogen—and with external community members. We work closely with community-based organizations to collaborate, listen, and learn from groups that represent the diverse population of people living with lupus. These relationships help ensure health equity efforts and drug development are informed by real-world community needs and perspectives.

What do you think makes Biogen uniquely positioned to lead the next chapter of lupus care?

We have a long history and scientific expertise in multiple sclerosis—and decades of R&D experience in the lupus space—giving Biogen a strong foundation in immunology. I think this has given us the ability to advance potential new treatment options for patients. Right now, there are limited treatments, and we’re working to change that, to create a hopeful future for the lupus community.