Request for Grant Proposal – Portal Hypertension

Purpose

Gore has identified an educational need in the area of portal hypertension due to cirrhosis of the liver and is accepting proposals for independent continuing education programs for physicians and advanced practice practitioners in the United States who participate in the treatment of patients with this condition. Funds will be made available to eligible organizations with proposals to address recognized scientific or educational needs within this therapeutic area.

Gore is committed to supporting independent, high-quality educational activities that foster an increased understanding of scientific, clinical, or healthcare issues, and that serve to improve timely access to appropriate patient care.

All educational content, faculty selection, and program format must be under the full control of the applicant organization. Gore will have no influence over the content development, and approved grant funding is not related to or conditioned upon purchases of Gore’s products. Furthermore, Gore does not offer or provide educational grants to encourage or reward the use of Gore’s products or their recommendation.

Intended Audience

Healthcare providers that treat patients experiencing complications associated with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. These may include:

Gastroenterologists
Hepatologists
Hospitalists
Advanced Practice Professionals with specialization in liver disease

Educational Needs

In recent years, there have been studies and updated guidelines on the optimal timing of treatment for complications of portal hypertension and cirrhosis. Two influential papers on recurrent ascites (Bureau, 2017) and variceal bleeding (Hernandez-Gea, 2019) are among many that have informed updated guidance on risk stratification and intervention timing for patients experiencing advanced liver disease. Generally, studies and guidance are collectively pointing toward the efficacy of TIPS procedures over repeated large-volume paracenteses for ascites or repeated endoscopic band ligation for variceal bleeding in select patient groups. Updated guidance has since been published by BAVENO (a consortium of liver specialists that meet in Baveno, Italy), European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL), Advancing Liver Therapeutic Approaches (ALTA), and American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD). BAVENO and EASL have published revisions in 2024 and ALTA and AASLD are due updated guidelines by early 2025.

Gore has identified potential educational needs involving the understanding, awareness, and implementation of these guidelines for physician specialties who are treating these complications in their office and clinics Applicants are encouraged to conduct their own independent needs assessments and, if justified, design programs that address one or more of these educational gaps. Potential focus areas may include, but are not limited to:

An overview of available therapeutic approaches and procedure options for treating complications of portal hypertension and cirrhosis that include ascites, variceal bleeding, and hepatic encephalopathy.
Education on latest data and guidance on risk stratification and optimal candidate selection for receiving a TIPS procedure for complications of portal hypertension and cirrhosis.
Education on the latest data, guidance and outcomes related to optimal timing of performing a TIPS procedure for the complications of portal hypertension and cirrhosis.
An overview of the patient care pathway and timing of engaging a multidisciplinary team to provide optimal, timely treatment of cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

Candidates for grant funding should be able to explain the latest disease state understanding and identify the unmet needs concerning current treatments for this disease.

Proposed and implemented educational activities must be fully compliant with all applicable accrediting organization and industry standards, guidelines, and requirements as they apply to the conduct of independent medical education. If an accredited provider chooses to submit an educational grant request, a complete and independent needs assessment including identified barriers to patient care, must be provided with the grant application.

Activity Design

Gore is seeking proposals for educational activities anticipated to begin in the late Winter/early Spring of calendar year 2026. Applicants may propose accredited live, online or audio formats that maximize reach to the identified audience. Please submit your proposal to the Gore Grants Program Coordinator (Grants_Program@wlgore.com, +1 928-864-3842).

Outcomes Measurement

Applicants should include their proposed methodology for assessing educational impact and reach. Quantitative measures such as pre- and post-educational assessments or a comparison to a control group who has not been exposed to the treatment trends are encouraged, but final assessment design should be determined by the applicant. A description of the methodology used to evaluate the reach and quality of the activity should be provided.

Grant Review Process

All grant applications received in response to this request will be reviewed by Gore’s Educational Grant Committee. This committee operates independently from the commercial organization and evaluates applications based solely on the merits of the proposal, its alignment with identified educational needs, and compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards. The committee does not participate in or influence the development of program content, selection of faculty, or educational format of funded activities.

Terms and Conditions

We reserve the right to approve or deny any or all applications received as a result of this request or to cancel, in part or in its entirety, this request for grants. Gore is not responsible for any costs associated with a grant application.