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NEW – Cuts Won’t Stop Us, We’re Not Giving Up
It’s not the news we wanted, but it’s news that will make our community fight harder than ever before. As it stands now, the impact of recent cuts to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense (DoD) means the only federal program dedicated exclusively to pancreatic cancer research will receive zero funding for FY25.
Here’s why this matters: Dedicated federal funding drives progress in early detection, better treatments, and hope for patients and families. Without Pancreatic Cancer Research Program (PCARP) funding, progress it was fueling comes to a screeching halt.
But we’re not giving up – we’re working with our Congressional champions now and will be coming back with a bold ask for FY26, very soon.
3/14 – FY25 Budget Passes, Includes Cuts to Cancer Research – Our Fight Continues
Thank you for being part of a passionate community that mobilized in record time to defend and protect cancer research funding. Ultimately, like the House, the Senate approved the FY25 budget bill that includes cuts to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) by 57%.
We expect the CDMRP cuts will affect funding at the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program (PCARP), but as of now, it is unclear by how much.
This was not the outcome we wanted, but as a community familiar with having to overcome obstacles, we will persist in our fight to protect and increase federal funding for pancreatic cancer research now and in the future.
PCARP only exists because of you and our community. It is still the only federal program that funds research exclusive to pancreatic cancer. Our powerful movement will continue to tell Congress that this funding is critical and needs consistent increases – because federal funding for cancer research saves lives.
Together, we’ll stay committed to demanding more from Congress for everyone affected by pancreatic cancer. And that means making bold asks.
Right now, PanCAN is engaging our champions in Congress to include a record-breaking amount of funding for PCARP in the FY26 budget. Because less is not an option when it affects the lives of those we love and want to see thrive.
There’s no stopping now.
3/12 – House Passes Budget, Includes Cuts to Cancer Research
Yesterday, the House passed an FY25 budget bill that slashes funding to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program by 57%.
Research for pancreatic cancer is already woefully underfunded, and now the only program exclusively funding pancreatic cancer research is one step closer to devastating cuts.
The Senate will vote on the budget this week.
As a community focused on progress, we won’t stand idly by. Don’t let your senators fail science, patients and you.
3/10 – Tell Congress: Vote NO on Cuts to Pancreatic Cancer Research Funding
Congress is voting this week on a FY25 budget bill to fund the government that cuts cancer research funding for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense by more than 50%. These devastating cuts directly threaten innovative research happening at the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program (PCARP) – research that’s vital to help cure one of the deadliest cancers.
As part of our powerful community, contact your members of Congress and tell them to VOTE NO on cuts.
Research progress for pancreatic cancer is at a critical turning point. Recent breakthroughs targeting key mutations – impacting more than 90% of pancreatic cancer patients – offer unprecedented hope. These advancements have the potential to finally unlock new treatments that could save lives. But without sustained funding, this progress could come to a grinding halt.
The CDMRP has played a pivotal role in advancing life-saving research. Cutting this mission-driven program endangers future breakthroughs and jeopardizes the momentum researchers have worked tirelessly to build. For patients and families desperately awaiting new treatments, these cuts would be disastrous.
Congress must reject this proposal and instead pass a full-year FY25 Defense Appropriations Act that fully funds the CDMRP. For Congress, failing to support this critical research is failing constituents like you!
We urge you to act now. Lives are on the line, and progress cannot wait. Together, we can ensure that research continues, breakthroughs are achieved and hope remains alive for those facing pancreatic cancer.
02/24/25
Thanks to decades of sustained, predictable federal investments and increases in pancreatic cancer research, the research community is at a tipping point – 2024 saw record-breaking advancements in drug approvals, and patients today are three times more likely to survive than when PanCAN was founded in 1999.
But pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers, with a five-year survival rate of just 13% – and future progress is now at risk.
The impact of recent executive actions on current and future pancreatic cancer research progress
Funding freezes, caps on Facilities and Administrative costs and other executive actions have already impacted the pancreatic cancer research community and threaten to dismantle the infrastructure that PanCAN and our community worked so hard to create over the past two decades.
Voices from the pancreatic cancer researcher community are sending a strong message: if these orders are allowed to stand, the consequences will be catastrophic. Today, we are sharing some of their concerns.
There has been a temporary freeze on federal research grants across various health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), disrupting ongoing projects and creating uncertainty about future funding.
“There are devastating stories coming out of Building 10 at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) where clinical trial participants were unable to enroll in trials,” said one scientist.
A researcher on the frontlines of pancreatic cancer breakthroughs put it bluntly: “Not getting this grant funded in a timely manner will massively impact our momentum on this very promising [new] treatment approach.”
An abrupt cap on Facilities and Administrative cost reimbursements for all NIH grants is a significant reduction in the investment in research. These costs are essential operational expenses such as maintenance of highly specialized labs, financial and legal compliance officers, chemical safety teams, etc. This cap is a cut to funding, hindering scientific progress by limiting institutions’ ability to conduct research.
One leading scientist described the impact: “Receiving a grant that covers salaries, supplies, services, and equipment is great, but I can’t perform that research in my living room.”
Another researcher said, “If the 15% [Facilities and Administrative] cost cap goes through, this will certainly decimate the foundation of academic medicine at many institutions and cancer centers.”
The Future of Pancreatic Cancer Research
These recent executive actions are causing confusion and uncertainty, jeopardizing funding for cancer centers doing critical research that would benefit patients and discouraging the next generation of researchers from staying in the field or finding institutions to support their work.
“A talented junior physician scientist is applying for a K01 grant. [There was] a request for additional information for council review. Status is now unclear and the program announcement has been removed.”
“[Some] NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers [that have] been recently approved for their five-year renewal, have still not received their funding even though their last five-year funding cycle ended in 2024. If not remedied immediately, this has the potential to profoundly compromise support for cancer patients, cancer research and cancer clinical trials.”
There has also been confusion for patients on whether they are able to enroll or participate in clinical trials, which hinders care at a critical time in their disease progression.
What You Can Do
This is not just a threat to funding – it is an obstruction of scientific progress. Patients cannot afford delays. Our community, the pancreatic cancer community, must act now.
PanCAN believes in comprehensive federal funding for cancer research – and Congress should, too! The fight against pancreatic cancer cannot – and must not – be stalled. Congress needs to hear your voice now.
