Bayer Offering Grants Up to $1M to Advance PAH, CTEPH Research and Care

Bayer has opened its second annual Pulmonary Hypertension Accelerated Bayer (PHAB) Awards, a grant funding program to support clinical research projects into pulmonary hypertension (PH), particularly those focused on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

The program, one of the largest grant industry-funding initiatives for these disorders, will award up to $1 million to research projects, including those that run for more than two years.

In a first awards round last year, the program recognized eight researchers working to advance PH understanding, treatments and care.

“Last year’s first-ever PHAB Awards generated high-quality, exciting proposals that we believe have the potential to have positive and long-lasting impacts for people with PAH and CTEPH,” Aleksandra Vlajnic, MD, MBA, senior vice president and head of Medical Affairs Americas at Bayer, said in a press release.

“This year, Bayer is optimistic that the Award submissions will build on the impressive momentum created in 2019 and is excited to see the new ideas and innovation from the next class of PHAB Award winners,” Vlajnic added.

Grant applications from PH professionals working in the U.S. are welcome. Letters of intent describing project details may already be submitted for each of the four grant categories offered.

Each category differs in terms of financial support, ranging from $50,000 to $200,000, depending on the scope of the project and on the career status of the applicant. Bayer awards a total of eight grants each year — in principle, two from each category, although exceptions may be made depending on the quality of the applications received.

For now, Bayer has not set any submission deadlines due to the current COVID-19 outbreak. The company stated it will announce the specific timeline as soon as the situation improves.

“For the second year in a row, we have the privilege and opportunity to support some of the brightest clinical researchers dedicated to advancing science and innovation in pulmonary hypertension,” Sameer Bansilal, MD, senior medical director of the U.S. Medical Affairs at Bayer, said.

“There is still much that can be done to help improve patient care, and we are confident that this program will continue to spark critical, and innovative thinking that we hope will result in tangible results for patients,” Bansilal added. 

PHAB Awards follow the same review criteria defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with each application graded based on its significance, innovation, methodology, environment, and the applicant’s status.

All research projects receiving grant support must be posted on clinicaltrials.gov, and efforts should be made to make sure findings are either published or presented at a medical meeting.

Once a grant is given a specific research project, additional funds under that grant will not be provided. If the research awarded is not conducted, grant money must be returned. More details about the program, application submissions, and review criteria can be found here.