F&A Rates on Clinical Trials

Revised F&A Rate for Industry-funded Clinical Trials
Corresponding to the university’s new F&A (indirect) cost rate agreement effective July 1, 2017, F&A costs for industry-funded clinical trials will be assessed at the rate of 22.3% of total cash received. This is based on the actual calculated off-campus research rate of 28.7% of total direct costs. To estimate F&A costs when the direct costs are known, add 28.7% of the direct costs.  The sum of the direct costs and F&A costs is the per-patient amount.  For example, if $785 is needed to cover the direct costs of a clinical trial, 28.7% or $225 would be added for F&A, bringing the total to $1,010.

Clinical trial agreements received by the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA) for negotiation on August 1, 2017 or later should include per-patient costs calculated using the revised F&A rate.

F&A Rate for Federally-funded and Flow-through-from-federal Clinical Trials
The budget for federally-funded or flow-through-from-federal clinical trials should be calculated at the university’s negotiated research rate of 53% Modified Total Direct Costs unless restricted by the sponsor. Federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, do not typically limit F&A on clinical trials.  Correspondingly, the university’s F&A rate agreement does not include a separate rate for clinical trials funded by the federal government.

If you have any questions about how the F&A should be calculated for a specific clinical trial, please contact Emily Beggs at emily.beggs@uky.edu or David Erem at dlerem2@email.uky.edu in OSPA.