PCORI Offers Up to $138 Million in Research Support through Latest Funding Announcements

Includes up to $50 million for hepatitis C studies and up to $12 million for rare disease research

News provided by

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Feb 04, 2015, 10:30 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today issued six new funding announcements offering up to $138 million in support for studies comparing how well different approaches to care work for patients given their particular circumstances and concerns.

One of the new PCORI Funding Announcements (PFAs) offers up to $50 million for up to four comparative clinical effectiveness studies on the best ways to diagnose and treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The other five announcements issued under PCORI's National Priorities for Research provide up to $88 million for a broad range of research projects, with a pool of $12 million of that total set aside for studies that focus on rare disease.

The HCV announcement is a product of a research prioritization process that included a large multi-stakeholder workshop that PCORI held in October 2014; PCORI's Board of Governors later approved the topic for development into a PFA. The announcement addresses four specific research questions addressing critical issues involving HCV screening and treatment options.

HCV is a major chronic condition that affects more than 3 million people in the U.S., the majority of whom are undiagnosed. About one-third of these individuals will develop chronic liver disease—including liver cancer—if left untreated.

"Hepatitis C is a substantial health threat that can have devastating consequences for infected people and their families," said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. "Recently approved medications are very promising and appear to be vast improvements over previous therapies, but as yet there's no 'real-world' evidence of their long-term effectiveness or comparative evidence on a number of critical research questions that should be answered to help patients and those who care for them make better-informed decisions."

Rare disease research is called out as a particular area of interest in four of the five broad funding announcements issued today (the PFA seeking proposals for methods studies is excluded). PCORI is earmarking $12 million for studies that focus on rare diseases, which are defined as life-threatening and chronically debilitating conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people, or fewer than one in 1,500, in the United States.

PCORI's authorizing legislation calls for the institute to address rare diseases as part of its research agenda. Rare diseases also are the focus of about half of the Patient-Powered Research Networks that are part of PCORnet, PCORI's national patient-centered health data initiative designed to allow the nation to conduct clinical research faster and more efficiently.

"We recognize the special challenges and efforts needed to study rare diseases effectively, so we've added a call for rare disease-focused projects across our broad funding announcements," Selby said. "We're hoping to solicit studies that can gather the amounts of data needed to conduct comparative effectiveness research studies and produce useful information about how to better care for people with these conditions."

Applicants can also learn about PCORI's application process through informational "town hall" webinars that are designed to help them meet all criteria for each funding announcement.

Letters of Intent (LOIs) for the Clinical Management of Hepatitis C Infection and five broad PFAs, including rare disease research proposals, are due by 5 p.m. ET Friday, March 6, 2015. LOIs are required and will be reviewed for responsiveness and fit with program goals. Those invited to submit full applications will be notified Monday, March 23; applications will be due Tuesday, May 5.

Information and key dates related to all of PCORI's funding opportunities can be found in the Funding Opportunities page on PCORI's website.

About PCORI
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers, and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continually seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. More information is available at www.pcori.org.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute