Prostate Cancer Foundation Provides Over $16 Million to Fund Innovative Prostate Cancer Research Through Annual Challenge Awards Program

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) announced the recipients of its 2024 Challenge Awards, funding over $16 million in innovative prostate cancer research for cross-disciplinary, multi-institutional teams of investigators. The competitive PCF program empowers scientist and clinician partnerships from some of the world’s leading cancer research institutions to apply their unique expertise at solving challenging problems in prostate cancer research. Since its inception in 2008, the program has provided more than $251 million to support important prostate cancer research.

“The PCF Challenge Awards brings together highly experienced investigators in a dedicated, collaborative research model and provides critical funding to support innovative prostate cancer research,” said Gina Carithers, PCF’s president and CEO. “Research conducted with support from this program has laid the groundwork for numerous advancements in prostate cancer detection, diagnosis and treatments that have positively impacted patients’ lives for over a decade. We thank all of the award recipients and applicants – past and present – who have dedicated themselves to finding new ways to fight this deadly disease, as well as our donors, whose contributions make this lifesaving work possible.”

The 2024 PCF Challenge Awards class was selected from 64 team applicants that were peer reviewed and evaluated for their potential patient impact and scientific promise. PCF granted a total of 15 awards this year, ranging from $1,000,000 to $1,800,000 per year for three years to cover direct costs of research. A full list of 2024 award recipients with project descriptions is available on our website.

PCF Challenge Awards funded the early development stages of PARP-inhibitors and PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy, which are now approved treatments for advanced prostate cancer. In addition, PCF-funded research has catalyzed the development of all FDA-approved treatments for advanced prostate cancer that prolong and improve patient survival.

About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s leading philanthropic organization dedicated to funding life-saving prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993 by Mike Milken, PCF has been responsible for raising more than $1 billion in support of cutting-edge research through more than 2,250 research projects at 245 leading cancer centers, with a global footprint spanning 28 countries. Since PCF’s inception, and through its efforts, patients around the world are living longer, suffering fewer complications, and enjoying better quality of life. PCF is committed to the mission of ending death and suffering from the disease. Learn more at pcf.org.

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