Leading cardiovascular research funders, including the Heart Foundation, have joined forces in a new partnership to
accelerate the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the world’s biggest killers, heart disease and stroke.
The new Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum (GCRFF) unites 11 leading independent international organisations
to coordinate funding for global clinical trials and promote international research efforts in heart, stroke and
circulatory diseases.
Globally, cardiovascular diseases kill 19 million people each year and around 550 million people are living with the
conditions. They are the biggest cause of death and disability globally.
Initially, members will share information on research funding priorities, strategic priorities and clinical trials to
advance global heart health.
A sub-group has also been formed to facilitate the coordination of international clinical trials which will help
researchers in different countries to collaborate on plans and coordinate funding applications for global clinical
trials that might not be feasible in a single country or with support from a single funder.
The initiative could see trials delivered faster, with more generalisable results and make them more affordable for
national research funders. Ultimately, this could lead to findings that save and improve the lives of millions of people
across the globe.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chair of the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum and Chief Executive of the British
Heart Foundation said “Despite the astonishing progress that research has made in recent decades, heart disease remains
the world’s biggest killer.
“Putting an end to the suffering caused by these diseases requires an immense international effort. By coming together
as the world’s leading funders in cardiovascular science, we can coordinate our research efforts and set a clear
international agenda for cardiovascular science. By acting as one, we aim to accelerate the pace of research progress to
save and improve lives worldwide.”
Heart Foundation Medical Director, Gerry Devlin sees the new initiative as an exciting opportunity for researchers of
heart disease in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“In collaboration with international colleagues we’ll be able to plan ambitious, practice-changing clinical trials and
allow individual research funders to feedback into the trial design early, before the trial has already started,” he
says, “This will reduce the risk to the funders because there’s greater assurance that the trial will be deliverable,
and costs are spread.”
The Forum includes many of the biggest independent funders of cardiovascular research in the world, who together support
more than US$600 million in research annually.
In addition to the Heart Foundation’s involvement, the other founding members are:The American Heart AssociationThe British Heart FoundationThe Danish Heart Foundation,The Dutch Heart FoundationThe German Centre for Cardiovascular ResearchThe Leducq FoundationThe Heart and Stroke Association of CanadaThe Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, CanadaThe National Heart Foundation of AustraliaThe Swedish Heart & Lung Foundation
For more information on the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum and its multinational clinical trial
initiative, read hereAbout the Heart FoundationThe Heart Foundation is New Zealand’s heart charity that is leading the fight against heart disease.Heart disease is New Zealand’s single biggest killer, claiming the lives of more than 6,700 New Zealanders every year –
that’s more than one person every 90 minutes.More than 170,000 New Zealanders are currently living with heart disease.The Heart Foundation funds cutting-edge research and specialist training for cardiologists, while our education and
prevention programmes address heart disease head-on in the community.As a charity we rely heavily on the generosity of everyday Kiwis to support our life-saving work.