New Grant Programs from PhRMA Foundation Offer Substantial Funding for Research Projects in Drug Discovery and Drug Delivery

The PhRMA Foundation has announced two new grant-funding opportunities that will provide substantial support for young researchers with innovative projects in Drug Discovery and Drug Delivery. Funding of up to $100,000 is available, with categories including pre/postdoctoral fellowships and research starter grants. Deadline for Letters of Intent for the new grants is May 15, 2020.

Predoctoral awards will provide $25,000 per year in funding for up to two years; postdoctoral awards will provide $50,000 per year in funding for up to two years; and research starter grants will provide $100,000 in funding for one year.

The new grant programs are part of the Foundation’s recently announced shift in its mission, intended to help shape a new era of multidisciplinary research and drug development. The Foundation’s new mission, strategic goals and funding priorities have restructured the Foundation’s focus to encompass a broader multidisciplinary scope across the drug development spectrum.

“Our new grant programs build on the PhRMA Foundation’s 55-year history of supporting the nation’s most promising research and most gifted young scientists,” said Eileen Cannon, PhRMA Foundation president. “They allow us to keep pace with an ever-changing research environment and support novel concepts to improve therapeutics and ultimately health care for patients.”

As a part of its new funding structure, the Foundation will no longer offer grants in its previous categories of Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology/Toxicology and Informatics. The Foundation’s new categories have been structured in a way that realigns them more closely with the needs of a fast-changing drug-development environment and in support of innovative research efforts emerging across the pharmaceutical industry – shifting from a skill- and discipline-based emphasis to a broader, multidisciplinary approach.

In addition to grants in Drug Discovery and Drug Delivery, the Foundation will announce grants and fellowships in Translational Medicine and Health Outcomes Research in months to come. A new program in the use and application of Data and Technology in Health Care is under development and special funding for research in Value Assessment will also be available.

Eligibility Requirements and Application Process
All applicants for the Foundation’s new programs in Drug Discovery and Drug Delivery must have a firm commitment from an accredited U.S. university or research institution. Applicants do not have to be U.S. citizens or U.S. residents.

To apply for the new grants, applicants must submit a letter of intent, due May 15, 2020. Those whose submissions are selected will be notified by July 1, 2020 and asked to complete a full application.