Pfizer Announces a Quality Improvement Grant RFP

Equity in Access to Cancer Cachexia
Clinical Trials
Competitive Grant Program - internal Pfizer review process
I. BackgroundPfizer Global Medical Grants (GMG) supports the global healthcare community’s independent initiatives(e.g., research, quality improvement, or education) to improve patient outcomes in areas of unmet
medical need that are aligned with Pfizer’s medical and/or scientific strategies.
Pfizer’s GMG competitive grant program involves a publicly posted Request for Proposal (RFP) thatprovides detail regarding a general area of interest, sets timelines for review and approval, and uses aninternal Pfizer review process to make final grant decisions. Organizations are invited to submit anapplication addressing the practice gaps as outlined in the specific RFP.
For all independent quality improvement grants, the grant requester (and ultimately the grantee) isresponsible for the design, implementation, and conduct of the independent initiative supported by thegrant. Pfizer must not be involved in any aspect of project development, nor the conduct or monitoringof the quality improvement program.

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II. Eligibility
Geographic Scope:

GlobalApplicant Eligibility
Criteria•

The following may apply: medical, dental, nursing, allied health, and/or
pharmacy professional schools; healthcare institutions (both large andsmall); professional associations and medical societies; medical
education companies; and other entities with a mission related tohealthcare professional education and/or healthcare improvement.

•If the project involves multiple departments within an institution and/orbetween different institutions / organizations / associations. All
institutions must have a relevant role and the requesting organizationmust have a key role in the project.

•For projects offering continuing education credit, the requestingorganization must be accredited.

Date RFP Issued•

May 11, 2022

Clinical Area•

Cachexia

General Area of Interestfor this RFP:

Projects that will be considered for Pfizer support will focus on supporting
initiatives to improve identification and equity in access to cancer cachexia
clinical trials.

III. Requirements

More than 50% of people with advanced cancer will suffer from cancerrelated cachexia.1 It is a major contributor to morbidity, associated withprogressive impairment in function and quality of life, increased risk ofanticancer treatment-related toxicity and with reduced survival.1-3 It isdevastating for patients and their families.
Disease modifying therapies and supportive care are the cornerstones ofcancer treatment.4 The ASCO and ESMO cancer cachexia guidelines
advocate multimodal interventions for cancer-related cachexia, as acomponent of supportive care, but note the paucity of approved, effective
pharmacological treatment.2,5 Currently, there is no licensed pharmacologicaltreatment or agreed standard of care in the US or Europe.
It is important to improve equity and patient access for cancer cachexia trials
to potentially improve the quality of life for patients living with cancer
cachexia.

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It is our intent to support quality improvement projects. It is not ourintent to support clinical research projects. Projects evaluating theefficacy of therapeutic or diagnostic agents will not be considered.

Target Audience:•Healthcare professionals and multidisciplinary teams involved in thecare of patients with cachexia, patients with cachexia

Expected Approximate
Monetary Range ofGrant Applications:•Individual projects requesting up to $100,000 will be considered. Theestimated total available budget related to this RFP is $600,000.

Key Dates:•RFP release date: May 11, 2022•

Grant Application due date: June 30, 2022•

Anticipated Grant Award Notification Date: August 2022•

Grants will be distributed following a fully executed agreement.

•Anticipated Project Start Date: September 2022

*Start date will be individualized and dependent on decision notificationdate. Processing time may take longer for organizations outside of the U.S.

How to Submit:•Please go to www.cybergrants.com/pfizer/QI and sign in. First-timeusers should click “Create your password”. [Note: there are individual
portals for each grant application type (e.g., knowledge, LOI, research fullproposal, and QI full proposal). Please be sure to use the URL above.]•Click the “Start A New Quality Improvement Application” button.

•In the application:
oFor the question “Competitive Grant?” select YesoSelect the following Competitive Grant Program Name: 2022
IM G: Equity in Access to Cancer Cachexia Clinical Trials

oSelect the following Primary Area of Interest: CVM - Cachexia•Requirements for submission: Complete all required sections of theonline application and upload your project proposal (see Appendix) inthe Full Proposal Submission field.

•If you encounter any technical difficulties with the website, please click
the “Technical Questions” link at the bottom of the page.

IMPORTANT: Be advised applications submitted after the due date will not
be reviewed by the committee.

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Questions:•If you have questions regarding this RFP, please direct them in writing
to the Grant Officer, Jessica Romano (Jessica.Romano@pfizer.com),with the subject line “Equity in Access to Cancer Cachexia ClinicalTrials.”

Grant Agreements:•If your grant is approved, your institution will be required to enter into awritten grant agreement with Pfizer. Please click here to view the coreterms of the agreement.
Pfizer has drafted the terms of these agreements to be balanced andreasonable and to further the goals of both parties. Negotiating grant
agreements requires significant resources, so please ensure that yourinstitution (including your legal department) is able and willing to abideby these terms before proceeding with submission of your application as
they will need to be accepted in their entirety.

•Review and Approval
Process:•Grant requests received in response to a general RFP are reviewed by
Pfizer to make final grant decisions.

Mechanism by which
Applicants will beNotified:••

All applicants will be notified via email by the dates noted above.
Applicants may be asked for additional clarification during the review
period.

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

von Haehling et al. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2016;7(5):507-509
Arends J et al. ESMO Open. 2021 Jun;6(3):100092
Martin et al. J Clin Oncol. 2015;33:90-99
Laviano A. ESMO Open. 2022 Feb;7(1):100383.
Roeland EJ et al. J Clin Oncol. 2020 Jul 20;38(21):2438-2453.

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Appendix A
Quality Improvement Project Full Proposal
Applications will be accepted via the online portal. Full Proposal documents should be no longer than 1012 pages in length (12-point font and 1-inch margins) excluding Organization Detail and References.
When uploading your Full Proposal please ensure it addresses the following*:•Briefly state the overall goal of the project. Also describe how this goalaligns with the focus of the RFP and the goals of the applicantorganization(s).

•List the overall objectives you plan to meet with your project both in termsof learning and expected outcomes. Objectives should describe thetarget population as well as the outcomes you expect to achieve as aresult of conducting the project.

Assessment of Needfor the Project•

Please include a quantitative baseline data summary, initial metrics (e.g.,quality measures), or a project starting point (please cite data on gap
analyses or relevant patient-level data that informs the stated objectives)in your target area. Describe the source and method used to collect thedata. Describe how the data was analyzed to determine that a gap
existed. If a full analysis has not yet been conducted, please include a
description of your plan to obtain this information.

Target Audience•Describe the primary audience(s) targeted for this project. Also indicate
whom you believe will directly benefit from the project outcomes.
Describe the overall population size as well as the size of your sample
population

Project Design andMethods•

Describe the planned project and the way it addresses the establishedneed.

•If your methods include educational activities, please describe succinctly
the topic(s) and format of those activities•

Explain what measures you have taken to assure that this project idea isoriginal and does not duplicate other projects or materials alreadydeveloped.

•Describe how this project builds upon existing work, pilot projects, orongoing projects developed either by your institution or other institutions
related to this project.

•In terms of the metrics used for the needs assessment, describe how you
will determine if the practice gap was addressed for the target group.
Describe how you expect to collect and analyze the data.

Goals and Objectives

Innovation

Evaluation andOutcomes43Equityin Access to Cancer Cachexia Clinical Trials•

Quantify the amount of change expected from this project in terms ofyour target audience.

•Describe how the project outcomes will be broadly disseminated.

Anticipated ProjectTimeline•

Provide an anticipated timeline for your project including project start/enddates.

Additional Information•

If there is any additional information you feel Pfizer should be aware ofconcerning the importance of this project, please summarize here.

Organization Detail•

Describe the attributes of the institutions / organizations / associations
that will support and facilitate the execution of the project and theleadership of the proposed project. Articulate the specific role of eachpartner in the proposed project.

Budget Detail•The budget amount requested must be in U.S. dollars (USD).

•While estimating your budget please keep the following items in mind:•oGeneral organizational running costs such as insurances, heating,lighting, rent, building maintenance may be included. Pfizer does notprovide funding for capital purchases (infrastructure expenses suchas equipment, purchases of software or software licenses,
technology or bricks and mortar). Equipment hire/leasing is
acceptable and may be included in project budget.

oThe inclusion of these costs cannot cause the amount requested toexceed the budget limit set forth in the RFP.

oIt should be noted that grants awarded through GMG cannot be
used to purchase Pfizer therapeutic agents (prescription or nonprescription).

Pfizer maintains a company-wide, maximum allowed overhead rate of
28% for independent studies and projects. Please click here for details.

*The online application also includes the fields noted above. The text in those fields should be the same textthat is included in your Full Proposal document.

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