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Drug Delivery Faculty Starter Grant

Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation

The PhRMA Foundation Faculty Starter Grant in Drug Delivery offers financial support to individuals beginning independent careers at the faculty level at an accredited U.S. university in drug delivery research, including basic pharmaceutics, biopharmaceutics, pharmaceutical technology, pharmaceutical biotechnology, or biomedical engineering.

Letter of Intent DeadlineApril 15, 2026 @
12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time
11:00 a.m. Central Time
10:00 a.m. Mountain Time
9:00 a.m. Pacific Time

Program Vision

Delivering today’s increasingly complex drugs to patients demands novel approaches in technology development, formulation, manufacturing, as well as prediction and demonstration of in vivo performance. The PhRMA Foundation seeks to fund therapeutically relevant research that optimizes drug composition, dosage, and delivery to make treatments clinically viable, safer, more effective, and/or easier to manage for patients.

Scope of Research

Research areas could include, but are not limited to:

Formulation composition, drug dosage, and delivery modalities/technologies that enable desired pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of drugs, including emerging molecular and biological modalities
Development of CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls) processes that achieve enhanced product quality of challenging chemical entities (e.g., poorly soluble drugs, large molecules, cell-based constructs)
Predictive approaches (e.g., modeling, simulation, data analytics, and machine and deep learning) that seek to achieve in vitro and in vivo correlation; bridge a drug’s critical quality attributes and in vivo performance (PK, efficacy, and toxicity); and facilitate assessment of toxicities and side effects of a drug delivery system

Requirements

Proposals must include a clearly defined therapeutic payload and target tissue, as well as rationale for dosing and PK/PD feasibility. When possible, a project should include a plan for biodistribution and a clear explanation of functional delivery efficiency. Research applicable to multiple drug modalities will be prioritized.

Computational approaches must include a clear and feasible plan for translational validation to human-relevant systems. Proposals that involve AI approaches (i.e., data-driven ML/DL) must clearly document and reference the methodology, explain the data curation process (sources, quality, quantity), and detail the validation process.

Nonresponsive

Proposals framed as platform development without a payload, disease context, or feasibility path will not be considered.

Note: Please ensure you are applying to the correct PhRMA Foundation program. If your project does not align with the goals of the Drug Delivery Program, as outlined above, please review the Foundation’s Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine programs to see whether your project fits into one of those programs. Contact the Foundation (info@phrmafoundation.org) with your project description if you need further clarification.

FUNDING

The PhRMA Foundation Faculty Starter Grant in Drug Delivery provides funding of $100,000 of project support for one year.
Funding is conditional upon the awardee’s continued employment with the university, which will be assessed on a quarterly basis prior to payment. Awardees are required to notify the PhRMA Foundation if they leave the university.
Payments will be made directly to the university on behalf of the awardee, with the understanding the university will administer the funds.
Funds must be used to conduct the proposed research. Funds may not be used for salary support of the awardee, fringe benefits, or indirect costs.
Funds may be budgeted to include the support of a technician, graduate student, or postdoctoral fellow. The funds may not be used to provide tuition, fringe benefits, or indirect costs for personnel. Budgeted personnel may not be an active award recipient of the PhRMA Foundation.
Funds may be used to purchase equipment and/or data to support the research.
Up to $1,500 of the funds may be used for travel by the awardee to professional meetings in the United States.
Funding may begin as early as January 1, 2027, or on the first day of any month thereafter, up to and including August 1, 2027.
If you are offered a PhRMA Foundation award, the Foundation will reconfirm your financial support. Should you receive external funding in excess of $250,000 in annual direct costs, the PhRMA Foundation award will be withdrawn.
A final progress report and financial report will be required within 60 days of the grant’s conclusion.
Unspent funds are to be returned to the PhRMA Foundation upon the grant’s conclusion.
Any changes to the proposed project must be approved by the PhRMA Foundation.
Funds are non-transferable.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Scientific Excellence and Innovation

The PhRMA Foundation consistently funds highly innovative research in:

Drug Discovery
Drug Delivery
Translational Medicine
Health Outcomes Research

Successful applications typically propose novel scientific approaches, important biological questions, or innovative therapeutic strategies rather than incremental extensions of existing work.

2. Strong Alignment with Program Priorities

Projects must fit the objectives of the specific funding mechanism.

Examples include:

Drug Discovery → novel therapeutic targets and mechanisms
Drug Delivery → delivery systems, formulations, nanomedicine
Translational Medicine → moving discoveries toward clinical application
VA-HOR → value assessment and health outcomes research

Applications closely aligned with the selected program generally perform best.

3. Translational Potential

A recurring theme across PhRMA Foundation programs is research with a clear pathway toward improving human health.

The Foundation specifically describes its Drug Discovery program as supporting early-stage research with "clear potential for translation to humans." Projects that connect mechanistic science to future therapeutics are particularly competitive.

4. Strong Publication and Presentation Record

Applicant productivity is one of the most visible characteristics of awardees.

Competitive applicants typically demonstrate:

First-author publications
Conference presentations
Strong biosketches
Research accomplishments relative to career stage

Some fellowship programs explicitly require publication records, and sponsor letters are asked to evaluate applicant achievements and scientific progress.

5. Future Leadership Potential

The Foundation repeatedly describes its mission as supporting future scientific leaders.

Award announcements emphasize:

Scientific creativity
Leadership potential
Ability to shape future therapies
Long-term research impact

Applications that demonstrate a strong trajectory toward independent research careers are highly competitive.

6. Strong Mentor and Research Environment

For fellowship mechanisms, the quality of the mentor and training environment is a major factor.

Reviewers assess:

Sponsor commitment
Research infrastructure
Scientific training opportunities
Collaborations and resources

Strong mentorship is particularly important for predoctoral and postdoctoral applicants.

7. Novel Research Questions Addressing Unmet Needs

Recent Foundation communications highlight support for research that addresses:

Unmet clinical needs
New therapeutic opportunities
Emerging treatment modalities
Precision medicine approaches

Projects targeting important unresolved problems are often favored.

8. Evidence of Independence and Skill Development

A notable criterion in several fellowship programs is acquisition of new expertise.

For example, postdoctoral applicants remaining in the same laboratory as their graduate training may receive lower preference because the Foundation values exposure to new research environments and skill development.

9. Communication and Proposal Quality

The application process requires:

Research impact statements
Project abstracts for broad scientific audiences
Letters of support
Detailed research plans

Clear communication and a compelling explanation of scientific impact can substantially improve competitiveness.

10. Potential for Future Funding

The Foundation frequently serves as a launching platform for larger grants.

A survey of former awardees found:

71% later secured NIH funding.
37% later received pharmaceutical industry funding.

Projects that can generate pilot data for future federal, foundation, or industry support align strongly with the Foundation's long-term mission.

Frequently Funded Research Themes

Recent PhRMA Foundation awardees have worked in:

Drug discovery and target identification
Precision medicine
Cancer therapeutics
Gene and cell therapies
Nanomedicine
Drug delivery technologies
Translational medicine
Artificial intelligence in drug development
Pharmacoeconomics
Health outcomes research
Regulatory science and digital health tools

Funding Strategy

A highly competitive PhRMA Foundation application typically includes:

A novel, high-impact scientific question.
Strong alignment with Drug Discovery, Drug Delivery, Translational Medicine, or VA-HOR priorities.
Excellent publication productivity relative to career stage.
A strong mentor and research environment.
Clear translational relevance to improving patient care.
Evidence that the project will develop the applicant into an independent scientific leader.
Potential to generate future NIH, industry, or major foundation funding.

Specialties

Pharmaceuticals

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants (U.S. and non-U.S. citizens) must be full-time, promotion-eligible, research-intensive faculty at a PhD-granting accredited U.S. university by the time of LOI submission.
Applicants are ineligible if their faculty status began before January 1, 2025.
Applicants are ineligible if their last terminal degree was conferred before January 1, 2017.Applicants must be eligible to apply for independent external research funding by their university.
Applicants should not have other substantial sources of research funding, excluding intramural funding or startup funding from their university. Preference will be given to applicants with startup funding less than $750,000.
Applicants are ineligible if they are the principal investigator (PI) of an R or K series award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, or other substantial financial award from any grant-making institution. Generally, funding over $250,000 a year is considered substantial, unless you are the PI of a grant where funds go to training others. If this is the case, explain in your extended letter.
Applicants are ineligible if they do not have at least three first author publications.
Only one applicant per lab may apply in the Drug Delivery Program. Labs must select either a predoc, a postdoc, or a faculty member.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 670 Maine Avenue SW, Suite 1000 Washington DC, 20024-3556

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