ATS Foundation, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Offer $80,000 Sarcoidosis Research Grant

Researchers working in sarcoidosis may submit project proposals to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Foundation/Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Research Fellowship in Sarcoidosis, which will award one $80,000 grant ($40,000 a year for two years) to a principal investigator who is conducting research in this disease.

The two-year grant starts in December 2017 and extends through November 2019. Applications will be assessed for their scientific value, innovation, feasibility, and relevance to sarcoidosis. The funds may be used to pay researchers working on the project, buy reagents and laboratory supplies, travel, or other costs related to the project.

“As a disease that affects every organ in the body, sarcoidosis is a difficult disease to study,” Eric White, MD, director of Translational Interstitial Lung Disease Research, division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a news release.

“This grant, a partnership between the ATS and Mallinckrodt, will provide critical resources to investigators working to improve the lives of our patients,” he said.

“I have no doubt that recipients of this award will be able to advance the science and move us ever closer to understanding how and why sarcoidosis affects people, and how to best care for sarcoidosis patients,” White added.

Mallinckrodt is a global pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and markets therapies for autoimmune and rare diseases, including sarcoidosis. The ATS Foundation has awarded over $16 million to more than 200 investigators since 2004. Those researchers have then secured $215 million in federal funding to advance knowledge of critical illness, sleep, and pulmonary disorders.

“Mallinckrodt is proud to support the ATS Foundation in its commitment to research,” said Tunde Otulana, MD, the company’s senior vice president and chief medical officer. “We are pleased to help establish this fellowship for research in sarcoidosis that can help uncover new insights for healthcare providers and for patients living with this rare disease. It is our hope that these types of collaborations will play an important role in helping to advance pulmonary health science.”

Sarcoidosis is characterized by the accumulation of immune cells (granulomas) that can occur in multiple organs, impairing their function. Symptoms of sarcoidosis are usually nonspecific and generalized, including fever, fatigue, and weight loss, but vary depending on the organs affected.