Deadline: 01-Sep-2025
Pfizer has launched a competitive grant program aimed at closing the data gap in pneumococcal disease research and ultimately advancing public health outcomes. The program supports research focused on disease burden, serotype distribution, antibiotic resistance, and genetic evolution of pneumococci, particularly after the implementation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) immunization programs.
Key areas of interest include invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), and nasopharyngeal carriage in children under five. Projects may also analyze existing retrospective IPD serotyping data from national or subnational records, including local language surveillance reports from hospitals, public health agencies, and academic institutions.
The grant encourages proposals that include IPD clinical presentations such as sepsis, meningitis, bacteremic pneumonia, and other serious infections. Clinical isolates should have been collected from sterile sites like blood or cerebrospinal fluid no earlier than 2022. Priority will be given to under-represented countries in global literature, with emphasis on local surveillance and sample analysis.
Projects involving current serotyping of stored lab samples can use conventional methods like Quellung or molecular techniques such as PCR or whole genome sequencing. For such projects, additional funding for third-party lab services and sample transport may be available.
The total available budget for this request for proposals is $400,000 USD. Each individual project may request up to $50,000, with the potential to receive up to $80,000 if third-party lab services are included.
This grant is open to organizations—not individuals or unaffiliated medical practice groups. Eligible applicants must hold relevant medical, postdoctoral, or healthcare degrees and must be affiliated with the requesting institution. The organization must also be legally able to receive direct funding from Pfizer Inc.
Eligible countries for this call include Mozambique, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire.
For more information, visit Pfizer.