On March 23, 2024, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved, by a large bipartisan vote, the Senate version of the fiscal year 2024 Defense Appropriations Bill. As it has in the three previous years (FY21-23), the Committee renewed “peripheral neuropathy” (PN) as an eligible condition for receiving research grants from the Department of Defense’s Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). The Committee appropriated $370 million in total for the entire PRMRP, and peripheral neuropathy is one of 42 conditions that the Committee included as eligible for research from the PRMRP.
Peripheral Neuropathy Research at DoD
In 2020, Congress for the first time included “peripheral neuropathy” as an eligible condition for study through a $370 million fund administered by the DoD known as the “Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP).” This important breakthrough was a direct result of the nationwide advocacy of the peripheral neuropathy community, led by the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy.
In the first year for PN eligibility, the PRMRP received more than 1,000 applications for all eligible conditions. Forty-one focused on PN. Eight of those 41 projects were successful and resulted in more than $8 million in funding. Please click here for a list of the 2021 PRMRP Awarded Projects for peripheral neuropathy.
In 2022, three of 28 applications were awarded funding, totaling more than $4.6 million for PN grants. Please click here for a list of the 2022 PRMRP Awarded Projects for peripheral neuropathy.
In 2023, three applications were awarded funding, totaling more than $3.5 million for PN grants. Please click here for a list of the 2023 PRMRP Awarded Projects for peripheral neuropathy.
For more information about the FY24 PRMRP, for which PN has been renewed once again for a $370 million fund, visit https://ebrap.org/eBRAP/public/ProgramFY.htm?programFYId=583103
For more information on FPN’s advocacy efforts, please visit FPN’s advocacy webpage.