COLLABORATE Grant Program:

Primary Area of Interest:

• Adults living with rare diseases

• Adult-onset rare diseases

• Older adults living with rare diseases

Specific Area of Interest for this RFP:

• This independent grant program emphasizes improving the policy environment and systemic factors affecting aging adults with rare diseases, recognizing the unique challenges this population faces in accessing appropriate care and support.

• It is our intent to support projects that accelerate policy changes in adequate access to care and treatment for older adults living with rare diseases.

• Proposed projects must address one or more of the following categories:
  • Assessment & Analysis: Improve and sustain care for aging adults with rare diseases by gathering evidence to support advocacy for closing healthcare gaps and driving policy change. This can include programs that evaluate community outreach models. Application should include a thorough plan on how the evaluation data will be utilized to shape public policy.
  • Education & Awareness: Supporting the development of a National Action Plan on Rare Diseases. Increase education and awareness programs for healthcare providers, patients and caregivers, including the distinction between aging and illness. Development of resources and tools to support aging adults with rare diseases.
  • Policy & Advocacy: Empower communities to advocate for better access to care through the pursuit of legislation or regulations that support aging with RD in Patient Rights Policy frameworks, policy outreach/grassroots events, and strengthening of advocacy skill sets by connecting organizations.

• Applications must include a completed grant proposal template and will need to demonstrate:
  • Alignment to at least one of the categories listed above to improve the lives of older
    adults living with rare diseases
  • Quantifiable program impact and ability to measure results/outcomes
  • Connection of program elements to potential policy goals (short-term/long-term)
  • Capacity to deliver quality program(s) to achieve established goals, and plan for policy advocacy

It is not our intent to support clinical research projects. Projects evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic or diagnostic agents will not be considered.

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

• Participate in a COLLABORATE grantee community of practice facilitated by CanAge
• Share project updates, challenges, and learnings with other grantees
• Attend a virtual grantee kick-off meeting in Q1 2026 hosted by CanAge
• Contribute to knowledge mobilization activities managed by CanAge
• Participate in program evaluation activities
• Allow CanAge to share their project stories with CanAge members and beyond

CanAge will facilitate regular connection opportunities, provide a digital platform for grantee collaboration, and support dissemination of grantee work and outcomes.

Background

• The definition of a rare disease varies globally but is typically thought to be a disease that affects 1 in 2000 people.¹

• It is estimated that between 2–6% of the global population suffer with a rare disease, with
  approximately 30% of these first presenting in adulthood.^2-5 There is a lack of awareness and recognition among older adults and HCPs of the symptoms related to adult-onset rare diseases, and this often leads to symptoms being missed or misattributed to the common signs of aging⁶ thereby delaying time to diagnosis.⁷

• The number of people aging with a rare disease is increasing globally – in Italy, a three-fold increase in rare disease patients transitioning from childhood to adulthood was recently reported^8-9

• Life expectancy for certain rare diseases has significantly increased in recent decades and the mean age of rare disease patients in the US and Europe is now 30–40 years⁸

• Older people with rare diseases report experiencing ageism, poor communication, and inadequate provision of tailored information from their healthcare professional¹⁰ which can lead to negatively impact treatment outcomes¹¹

Expected Approximate Monetary Range of Grant Applications

• The total available budget related to this RFP is $100,000
• Individual projects requesting up to $25,000 will be considered.
• The amount of the grant awarded by Pfizer for any project will depend upon the external review panel’s evaluation of the proposal and the costs involved and will be stated clearly in the grant agreement.
• Award amounts include direct costs, institutional overhead costs (capped at 28% per Pfizer policy), and indirect costs.

Key Dates

• RFP Release Date: October 23, 2025
• Proposal Due Date: November 24, 2025
  Review of Proposals by Review Panel: December 2025
• Anticipated Full Proposal Notification Date: December 2025/January 2026
  Grants will be distributed following a fully executed agreement.
• Anticipated approximate project timeframes (suggesting 1 year project timelines): January 20226 – December 2026

How to Submit

Please go to https://www.cybergrants.com/pfizer/knowledge and sign in.

• Note: there are individual portals for each grant application type. Please be sure to use the URL
  above.
• First-time users should click “Create your password”.
• Click the “New Grant Application” button.