IA Patient Partner John Linnell serves on the Board of Directors for the US COPD Coalition and as an Advocacy Captain for the COPD Foundation, works with the nonprofit Right2Breathe, and has been appointed to the Patient Engagement Collaborative for the FDA. In this interview from our DIA Global Annual Meeting 2023 in Boston, John shares the vision, purpose, and power of his patient advocacy with DIA Scientific Affairs Specialist Maria Paula Bautista Acelas.

“Right2Breathe is designed to try to find people to get earlier diagnoses for COPD,” John explained. “There are over 14 million people in the US that have COPD who are not yet diagnosed, so we’re trying to find the missing millions. It’s a critical thing that needs to be done.”

“I’ve been a co-investigator on some clinical studies,” he continued. “It’s important that the patient is involved not only as a participant in a trial but to help design the protocol for the trial. Something that’s not being done but should be is getting the patient involved in designing the informed consent. Dropout in pharma trials is very costly for the sponsor. If the patient truly understands what they’re getting involved in, they’re more apt to stay in the trial.

“I am just adamant about involving the patient throughout the trial, not just as subject.”

Watch the full interview below.