Ministry Establishes Drug Innovation Fund to Advance Research into Value of Medicines

In April 2007, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced the establishment of the Drug Innovation Fund with $5 million available annually to provide Ontario researchers with stable, long-term funding needed to perform systems outcomes research, and evaluate the value of medicines in improving health outcomes.

• 2008/09 Call For Letters of Intent
• Mandate
• Background
• Capacity Building Award Initiatives

2008/09 Call For Letters of Intent

The ministry is announcing a formal competition for Request for Letters of Intent (LOI) for potential research grants for the 2008/2009 review cycle. For additional details on the various research themes and how to apply for funding, including the submission process for LOIs, please refer to the Request for Letters of Intent.

Mandate

Through the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act (formerly known as Bill 102), the Ontario Government has committed to provide annual funding for innovative health system research through the establishment of the Drug Innovation Fund. Short-term and multi-year funding will be provided to eligible researchers and organizations in Ontario to :

• Generate strong, high-quality, independent scientific evidence on the impact and value of new and existing drugs across the health care system, by linking drug interventions to health or system outcomes. These outcomes could include non-drug health outcomes or expenditures, such as inpatient hospital expenditures, ambulatory care, physician visits, etc.
• Support linkages between researchers, clinicians and drug policy decision makers to ensure the timely and effective application of relevant evidence-based scientific information and to support the objectives and priorities of the Ontario Public Drug Programs Office.
• Support and develop research capacity in the area of drugs and health outcomes in Ontario.

Background

To inform evidence-based policy making, improved "real-world," population-based evidence is needed on the impact of drug utilization on costs and outcomes. Greater evidence is required with regard to the impact of the use of new drugs (those recently approved for marketing and sale) on both patient and health system outcomes related to the treatment of a particular condition within a patient population. As such, funding will be provided to Ontario academics/scientists through the Drug Innovation Fund, to perform evidence-based research that will demonstrate the positive role of new and existing drugs in reducing non-drug health care expenditures within the health care system. Presently, the fund provides $5 million annually to fund research in this area.

During the 2007/08 review period, from a total of 37 Letters of Intent received, the ministry approved funding for 8 proposals, totalling about $3.8 million.

Submissions are assessed by a Joint Academic and Relevance Review Panel guided by their Terms of Reference.

Capacity Building Award Initiatives

On July 18, 2007, the ministry, in partnership with the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, also announced the launch of the following capacity-building award initiatives in support of :

• An Ontario Chair in Drug Policy
• Four Fellowships Awards in drug policy

Funding for these initiatives is provided through the ministry's Drug Innovation Fund, in its continuing effort to support drug policy capacity building in Ontario. Please visit the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research website for details (including submission dates) and applications for the Ontario Chair in Drug Policy and the Drug Policy Fellowships Awards.

For information on other ministry research funding initiatives, please visit the Research Unit section. For questions about the Drug Innovation Fund, please contact Orest Sporniak at (416) 326-3141, or by email at : Orest.Sporniak@ontario.ca.