Bayer grants $2.75M to hemophilia research

German drugmaker Bayer has announced the award of $2.75 million in grant funds via the Bayer Hemophilia Awards program, at a special awards dinner and ceremony held in conjunction with the 2006 World Federation of Hemophilia's world congress in Vancouver, Canada. The awards will support 25 research and education projects, including inhibitor formation in hemophilia and other related bleeding disorders.

Recipients of Bayer's donation program come from 13 countries in four categories: Early Career Investigators; Clinical Scholarships; Special Projects; and Caregivers Education. David Lillicrap, chairman of the review committee that selected the recipients, said that "we need programs like BHAP because of a shortage of important funding for hemophilia research. Bayer's awards help encourage young, bright researchers, clinicians and caregivers to focus their career on hemophilia."

Since the BHAP's launch in 2002, almost $12.0 million has been awarded to 100 hemophilia professionals. To date, Bayer says that 29 scientific publications, nine full papers and 20 abstracts have been published as a result of the program.