The USC School of Pharmacy has increased funding for research and clinical projects from non-federal agencies according to the latest report issued by the school’s Administrative Affairs Office.

“Currently, 47 percent of our research awards comes from nonprofit agencies and foundations and from industry,” said Cynthia White, associate dean of administrative affairs. “Last year, we only received 31 percent of our funding from these groups.”

The dollar increase is more impressive than the percentages indicate. The 2007 total from these non-federal agency sources is $4,379,703 compared to $2,147,107 in 2006. These funding dollars include awards from foundations, associations, universities, pharmaceutical companies and research firms.

Federal agencies account for the remaining funding dollars for the school, with this year’s federal number totaling $4,902,709, a jump of $58,661 from last year. The school is the top-ranked private pharmacy school in the nation for National Intitutes of Health funding, ranked at 14th among all pharmacy schools. Last year, the school was ranked 15th.

The federal agencies supporting the school’s work include the bodies that comprise the NIH, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

“While we still depend greatly and expend tremendous efforts in winning federal dollars, we also recognize the need to extend our reach to other groups committed to the research we do in both laboratory and clinical settings,” said Dean R. Pete Vanderveen, holder of the John Stauffer Decanal Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The non-federal agency awards have provided the school’s Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy with significant funding opportunities not typically available through federal agencies. This year, the department is contributing $2,749,762 (30 percent) to the school’s total research award budget.

“In the past, research awards were scarce for faculty who were not pharmacologists or pharmaceutical scientists at our school. Now, with more non-federal agency options, we are able to find support for projects that provide clinical services in underserved communities, conduct outcomes research, study compliance issues and other topics that address critical societal needs,” explained Kathleen Johnson, chair of the Titus Family department.

The school’s other department, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, won nearly all of the school’s awards from federal agencies. In addition, the department also competes for significant dollars from the nonprofit sector and industry, capturing well over $1.5 million this year.

“Our department’s scientists are able to compete successfully for the very competitive federal agency funding,” said department chair Sarah Hamm-Alvarez. “But we also recognize the significant contribution that foundations, associations and industry make. These awards have greatly augmented our research efforts.” Hamm-Alvarez is the Gavin S. Herbert Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

According to Enrique Cadeanas, associate dean of research, “Our research award support from all sources has jumped almost 33 percent this year,” advancing from last year’s total of $6,991,155 to $9,282,412. “This kind of increase will impact the research that the school produces.”

Cadenas, the Charles Krown/Pharmacy Alumni Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences, said, “Our goal is to build on this upward trend.”