DOD FY11 Neurofibromatosis Clinical Consortium Award | Apply Online

FAQs: DOD FY11 Neurofibromatosis Clinical Consortium Award (W81XWH-11-NFRP-CCA)

What is the DOD FY11 Neurofibromatosis Clinical Consortium Award?

It was a U.S. Army-managed funding opportunity under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), within the Neurofibromatosis Research Program (NFRP). The award was designed to build and support a single, high-performing clinical consortium focused on neurofibromatosis (NF) clinical research.

What is the funding opportunity number for this award?

The Funding Opportunity Number (FON) was W81XWH-11-NFRP-CCA.

Which program and agency sponsored this opportunity?

The opportunity sat within the CDMRP Neurofibromatosis Research Program (NFRP). The sponsoring agency was the Department of the Army (USAMRAA).

What is the long-term purpose of the Neurofibromatosis Research Program (NFRP)?

The NFRP has been in place since 1996 with the long-term purpose of improving understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of neurofibromatosis (NF).

What was the stated FY11 vision or emphasis for the NFRP?

For FY11, the program framed its vision as supporting the strongest research efforts that could ultimately eliminate, or sharply reduce, the real-world clinical burden of NF.

What was the main goal of this particular Clinical Consortium Award?

The main goal was to assemble an exceptional group of institutions and investigators into one integrated consortium with a clear, product-driven objective: speeding clinical translation of promising basic and preclinical NF findings into early-stage clinical testing.

Did this opportunity fund multiple independent projects or a single consortium?

It focused on building and supporting a single, high-performing clinical consortium rather than funding many independent projects.

What kinds of clinical studies was the consortium expected to run?

The consortium was expected to conceive, design, develop, and conduct collaborative Phase I and Phase II clinical evaluations of therapeutic agents relevant to neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2).

Which neurofibromatosis conditions were specifically included?

The scope explicitly included NF1 and NF2.

What does the Phase I and Phase II emphasis suggest about the type of work supported?

Phase I and II studies generally focus on early assessments such as safety, dosing, feasibility, and initial signals of activity or benefit. The award emphasis indicated a push toward practical near-term clinical progress through early clinical evaluation of candidate therapies.

Why did the DOD emphasize a consortium model for this award?

By requiring collaboration and focusing on early clinical evaluation, the intent was to reduce duplication, improve recruitment and trial execution across participating institutions, and create a coordinated pathway for testing multiple promising agents in NF1 and NF2.

How was the consortium expected to operate across participating institutions?

It was expected to function as an integrated, collaborative network capable of moving candidate therapies into human studies efficiently, using shared standards, coordinated decision-making, and the infrastructure needed to execute trials across multiple sites.

What type of funding mechanism was used?

The award used a cooperative agreement mechanism.

What does a cooperative agreement imply in this context?

A cooperative agreement typically implies more substantial involvement by the funding agency than a standard grant, particularly around oversight, milestones, and coordination expectations.

How many awards were anticipated?

The opportunity anticipated making one award.

What was the estimated total funding amount?

The estimated total funding amount was $9,000,000.

What did the estimated funding level indicate about the program design?

The large, centralized funding amount aligned with the consortium model and the expectation of running multi-site early-phase clinical studies.

What was the activity category associated with this opportunity?

It was listed under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category.

What CFDA number was associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity was associated with CFDA 12.420 (Military Medical Research and Development).

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was described as unrestricted, meaning it was open to any type of applicant organization as permitted by the solicitation terms.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The notice stated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.

When was the opportunity posted?

The announcement was posted on May 6, 2011.

What were the application deadlines?

The original closing date and the final closing date were both September 15, 2011.

When was the opportunity archived?

It was archived on October 15, 2011.

Who should applicants contact for technical issues accessing the full announcement?

For technical issues accessing the full announcement, applicants were directed to the CDMRP Help Desk (PA HELP/eReceipt HELP) at 301-682-5507.

Is this opportunity still open?

No. Based on the listed closing date (September 15, 2011) and the archive date (October 15, 2011), it was a FY11 opportunity that has closed.

What was the practical outcome the consortium was intended to deliver?

The consortium was intended to create an efficient, coordinated capability to move multiple promising NF therapeutic agents from preclinical promise into early-stage human studies through multi-site Phase I and Phase II clinical evaluations.