Grand Challenges: Reducing the Burden of Preeclampsia

Background

Preeclampsia is a leading cause worldwide of maternal morbidity and mortality, premature birth, stillbirth, and neonatal death. Preeclampsia is a placental disease caused by two different pathologies during pregnancy. Early-onset disease, caused by reduced uteroplacental blood supply, is a major driver of fetal mortality. Late-onset disease, caused by increased fetoplacental demands, is a major driver of maternal morbidity and mortality. These two pathologies converge on elevated levels of the protein sFlt1 and concomitant decreases in PlGF.

The Challenge

We seek proposals for innovative solutions for the early detection, prevention, and treatment of preeclampsia, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where maternal mortality rates are high. To support this focus, we are looking for collaborations, including those with research institutions, health care providers, and global health organizations, that enable cross-sector insights and ensure that solutions are adaptable and practical.

The objectives of the challenge are:

• Early prediction and detection of preeclampsia. We seek biomarkers (including other than sFlt1 and PlGF), diagnostic tests, and point-of-care technologies to predict early in pregnancy the risk of preeclampsia and to diagnose it before symptoms become severe.
• Understanding the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and its heterogeneity. We seek to understand the biological mechanisms driving the disease and its subtypes so that new interventions can be effectively tailored to the underlying etiology.
• Preventive and therapeutic interventions. We seek new approaches to known targets or new targets to reduce the incidence and severity of preeclampsia, mitigate disease progression, and prevent the cardiovascular and metabolic complications that often follow it.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• Eligibility Criteria
  • This initiative is open to nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, international organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions.
  • We particularly encourage applications involving projects led by women or from women-led organizations and applications from institutions based in low- and middle-income countries.

Ineligibility

• We will not fund proposals that:
  • Focus on implementation science, health systems integration, or social determinants (although these are all important elements, they are not in the scope of this request for proposals).
  • Do not have the potential to become affordable and scalable in resource-limited settings.
  • Represent basic research without clear relevance to the objectives of this challenge.
  • Lack a clearly articulated and testable hypothesis.
  • Present unacceptable safety risks or detract from or interfere with beneficial practices.
  • Approaches that leverage previously failed biomarker exploration.