1. The future of clinical trial funding
30/30 Horizons in Healthcare Research NHMRC CTC 30th Anniversary Symposium 1 March 2019
The future of clinical trial funding
Professor Anne Kelso AO Chief Executive Officer

2. Clinical trials funding in NHMRC’s new grant program

3. NHMRC’s new grant program – four streams
Investigator Grants
Synergy Grants
Ideas Grants
Strategic and leveraging grants
Support the research program of outstanding investigators at all career stages
Support outstanding multidisciplinary teams to work together to answer major questions that cannot be answered by a single investigator
Support innovative research projects addressing a specific question
Research that responds to national priorities:
CREs
Partnerships
Development Grants
Targeted Calls
International schemes
Clinical trials and cohort studies
Salary + research support package
Research costs
($5 million)
One per investigator*
One per investigator
Two per investigator*
No caps
* Researchers may hold one Investigator Grant or up to two Ideas Grants

4. NHMRC’s new grant program – redividing the pie
Old grant program
New grant program
Clinical Trials &
Cohort Studies
~$70 million p.a.

5. STRATEGIC AND LEVERAGING GRANTS
To support research that addresses identified national needs
STRATEGIC AND LEVERAGING GRANTS
Includes new scheme – Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies
Objective: support high-quality clinical trials and cohort studies that address important gaps in knowledge, leading to relevant and implementable findings for the benefit of human health
Open to research proposals for clinical trials and/or cohort studies of any size, including:
applications for new clinical trials and/or cohort studies
proposals to answer research questions using findings from existing trials or cohort studies.
Criteria:
Significance (40%)
Research Quality (40%)
Team Quality and Capability (20%)
Greater visibility and no caps
Focus on rationale (systematic review)
Design: SPIRIT and STROBE checklists
Milestone reporting

6. STRATEGIC AND LEVERAGING GRANTS
To support research that addresses identified national needs
STRATEGIC AND LEVERAGING GRANTS
Includes new scheme – Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies
Objective: support high-quality clinical trials and cohort studies that address important gaps in knowledge, leading to relevant and implementable findings for the benefit of human health
Open to research proposals for clinical trials and/or cohort studies of any size, including:
applications for new clinical trials and/or cohort studies
proposals to answer research questions using findings from existing trials or cohort studies.
Criteria:
Significance (40%)
Research Quality (40%)
Team Quality and Capability (20%)
Applications open
6 March 2018
Minimum data due
10 April 2019
Applications close
8 May 2019
Peer review
Aug/Sep 2019

7. Timing of opening/closing of funding schemes in 2019
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
CREs
Development
Investigator
Synergy
Ideas
Clinical trials
Postgraduate
Partnership
TCRs
International
Dementia
MRFF

8. Medical Research Future Fund

9. NHMRC and MRFF budgets – to be updated 2 April 2019
Source: Portfolio Budget Statements

10. The future of clinical trial funding - practicalities
NHMRC will continue to support investigator-initiated clinical trials across all disease areas.
Scheme guidelines and peer review processes will need to keep up with new approaches to clinical trial design.
Scheme budgets will be reviewed annually as usual.
Scheme may evolve over time – please give us feedback.
MRFF is focussed on government priorities, which may change over time.
NHMRC will continue to deliver funding schemes (including clinical trial schemes) for MRFF at the request of Department of Health.
There are opportunities for future streamlining of NHMRC and MRFF clinical trial schemes.
Watch GrantConnect!
Read the Guidelines!

11. The future of clinical trial funding – in 30 years?
Funders will expect:
value: clear evidence of need, potential impact and pathway to uptake
end-user engagement: participant, policy maker, healthcare provider
international linkages for recruitment and data sharing
trial registration and open data sharing
trials embedded in routine clinical practice
Funders will need to provide:
data inter-operability (with ethics applications, registries etc)
flexibility to evaluate and fund new, more efficient trial designs
more frequent/continuous funding cycles
simple reporting mechanisms

12. Thank you