Playing a critically important role in advancing the research of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), the Broad Medical Research Program at CCFA (BMRP-CCFA) was established by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in 2001 and acquired by CCFA in January 2014.
This unique and nontraditional program aims to infuse new approaches from all disciplines – and from both U.S. and foreign investigators – into the IBD research field by investing in early stage, proof of concept testing of original ideas. Such support enables investigators to collect the data necessary to seek follow-on funding from traditional grant programs at CCFA, the National Institutes of Health and other international funders.
Opening up new avenues of investigation, the BMRP-CCFA aims to accelerate our understanding of the etiology, management, therapy, prevention and eventual cures of IBD.
Preference is given to proposals with strong potential to impact patients in the foreseeable future (~5years) and those likely to be funded later by more traditional funding agencies. Funding is provided for up to two years, with the second year funding contingent on a positive evaluation of the progress and the perceived value of the findings.
The program has been a great success, having provided a total of $50.1 million in grants representing 443 funded project years since 2001. The findings have resulted in 708 publications in high-impact scientific journals, 3 publications in press, 7 patents issued and 28 patents filed. Based on pilot funding from BMRP, 310 new grants have been obtained by investigators - a total of $156.6 million in new research funding. These include $14.5 million from CCFA (34 grants), $95.7 million from the NIH (88 grants), $2.9 million from biotechnology and other multinational companies (16 grants), $374,000 from Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada (2 grants), and $43.1 million from other U.S. and non-U.S. orgs (170 grants).
CCFA holds a place of distinction within the international research community, and our investment of over $267 million in training and senior grants has resulted in an estimated tenfold return in continuation funding. As a counterbalance to CCFA's robust, more traditional research grants program, the BMRP-CCFA continues to greatly benefit the IBD research community and will ultimately lead to breakthrough discoveries in curing IBD and improving the lives of patients.
From 2014 to 2016, CCFA aims to raise $2 million per year for the Broad Medical Research Program at CCFA. During this period, the Broad Foundation will match gifts to the program up to $2 million per year.
The Broad Medical Research Program at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America
May 2016