Awards Include Research on Opioids, Depression, Multiple Sclerosis and Blood Clots

/EINPresswire.com/ -- WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - July 19, 2016) - The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors today approved $152.8 million to fund 28 comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies and seven related projects for improving CER methods. The funds will support studies of a range of conditions and problems that impose high burdens on patients, caregivers and the healthcare system.

Two of the new awards, totaling $21 million, will fund studies on the most effective ways to manage and reduce opioid use among people with chronic pain. Four awards, totaling nearly $20 million, will fund four projects comparing medications and other treatment options for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Board also approved nearly $40 million to fund three CER studies on strategies to address treatment-resistant depression.

Three newly approved studies will focus on the blood-thinning medications used to treat dangerous blood clots in the veins and lungs. Two of these awards, totaling $6.5 million, will fund research comparing the benefits and harms of four new oral anticoagulants to both each other and an older drug when used for an extended time to prevent blood clots. Another $11 million will support a large pragmatic trial to compare the safety and effectiveness of low-molecular-weight heparins and aspirin in preventing clots in patients who have broken bones. PCORI's pragmatic clinical studies are conducted in routine clinical care settings, and are intended to provide information that can be directly adopted by healthcare providers.

For more information about the targeted awards, please visit:

• PCORI Board Approves $21 Million to Fund Research on Managing and Reducing Opioid Use for Chronic Pain
• Four Studies to Assess Effectiveness of Multiple Sclerosis Treatments Receive $19.6 Million in Funding from PCORI
• PCORI Board Approves $40 Million for Improving Treatment Options for Depression
• PCORI Board Approves $6.5 Million for Research Comparing Benefits, Harms of New and Older Blood Thinning Drugs

"These new projects reflect the best ideas of the research community for urgently needed research on topics prioritized with input from patients, family caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders," said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. "The new studies expand our portfolio of patient-centered comparative effectiveness research that will produce vital evidence to address difficult questions on topics that matter most to patients."

With these latest awards, PCORI's Board has approved more than $1.4 billion since 2012 in funding for 549 patient-centered CER studies and other projects to enhance the methods and infrastructure to support these projects.

The awards on blood clot prevention therapies, depression, MS and opioids resulted from four targeted funding announcements that PCORI issued in response to input from the healthcare community. PCORI hosted a series of multi-stakeholder workshops in 2015 that brought together patients and participants representing groups advancing research on these conditions as well as clinicians, government agencies, industry, and health insurers to refine the questions that became the focus of the funding announcements.

The Board also approved 23 additional CER studies and methods projects for funding under PCORI's five National Priorities for Research. These studies will compare different options for improving outcomes for conditions such as breast cancer, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and stroke.

Details of all the approved projects can be found on PCORI's website. All of the new awards were approved pending a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of formal award contracts.

The projects approved were selected through a competitive review process in which patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders joined scientists in evaluating proposals on the basis of scientific merit, how well they engage patients and other stakeholders, and their methodological rigor among other criteria.

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.

Contact:
Christine Stencel
Associate Director of Media Relations
202-570-9275
cstencel@pcori.org

Mary McNamara
Senior Media Relations Specialist
202-570-9480
mmcnamara@pcori.org