The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has announced a funding opportunity titled "Assay development and screening for discovery of chemical probes, drugs or immunomodulators (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)." This initiative invites applications for the identification and development of small molecules that can elucidate disease biology or serve as therapeutic agents, with a focus on advancing research related to cancer treatment. The program encompasses various stages of discovery research, including assay development, high-throughput screening, hit validation, and optimization of lead compounds, encouraging innovative methodologies to enhance understanding of cancer biology. Interested applicants, including a wide range of institutions and organizations, must submit their proposals by September 7, 2026, and can find additional information and application guidelines at the NIH grants website or contact NIH Grants Information at grantsinfo@nih.gov.

PAR-23-264-Full-Announcement.html

PAR-23-264.html

The Department of Health and Human Services, through the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) aimed at advancing research in the discovery and development of novel small molecules for cancer treatment. This initiative, reissuing the funding opportunity PAR-20-271 under NOFO number PAR-23-264, seeks proposals for the development of assays and screening for potential chemical probes or drugs. The eligible applicants include various institutions, nonprofits, and foreign entities, with an emphasis on promoting research related to underrepresented cancer targets and pathways.

Key research stages include developing primary screening assays, implementing high-throughput screens, and validating initial hits through comprehensive follow-up assays. The program encourages innovative approaches and robust methodologies to ensure the relevance of compounds in understanding cancer biology and therapeutic strategies. Applications are expected to address specific aspects of assay design, screening implementation, and hit validation while collaborating with experts in medicinal chemistry and screening technologies. The funding will support grants for up to three years, contingent upon the successful application and available NIH appropriations, reflecting a commitment to bolster the fight against cancer through scientific discovery.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-264.html

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits applications for identification of small molecules that function to elucidate the biology of disease as chemical probes or function as agonists or antagonists of disease target(s) for therapy or immunotherapy. The NOFO is intended to support discovery research for the identification of validated hits relevant to health-related outcomes of participating NIH Institutes. Stages of discovery research covered by this NOFO include: 1) assay development for specific biological targets and disease mechanisms relevant to the mission of participating NIH Institutes with the intent to screen for small molecule compounds that show potential as probes for use in advancing knowledge about the known targets, identifying new targets, or as pre-therapeutic leads; 2) screen implementation high throughput target-focused approaches or moderate throughput phenotypic- and fragment-based approaches to identify initial screening hits; 3) hit validation, including implementation of secondary assays that are orthogonal to the primary assay, advanced cheminformatics analysis and initial medicinal chemistry inspection to prioritize the hit set, and follow-up assays to characterize mode and mechanism of action of the validated hits; 4) hit-to-lead optimization, including SAR to optimize target engagement, selectivity and to minimize chemical liabilities, ADME, PK and PD studies, and, if appropriate, in vivo modeling to test efficacy or biological effects.

See Section VII. Agency Contacts within the full opportunity announcement for all other inquires.

NIH Grants Information&lt;br/&gt;grantsinfo@nih.gov

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