Drug Discovery For Nervous System Disorders (R21) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Drug Discovery For Nervous System Disorders (R21) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PAR 16-042) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant announcement under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Agency: HHS-NIH11). It is a discretionary grant mechanism using the R21 funding instrument, which is typically intended to support exploratory, early-stage projects that generate key proof-of-concept data. In this case, the focus is squarely on drug discovery and early preclinical development for nervous system disorders, with an emphasis on finding and testing novel compounds that could eventually help prevent or treat neurological conditions.

The core purpose of the announcement is to encourage applications that move beyond basic observations and into practical, development-oriented research. Projects are expected to concentrate on the discovery of new therapeutic candidates and on preclinical testing activities that help determine whether those candidates are promising enough to justify further development. This can include activities like identifying or designing novel compounds, optimizing lead molecules, and running early-stage studies that examine biological activity relevant to nervous system disease, including evidence of efficacy in appropriate experimental systems. The announcement is specifically framed around “discovery and preclinical testing,” which signals that proposals should be oriented toward tangible translational milestones rather than purely descriptive or mechanistic work without a clear path to a drug candidate.

Financially, the award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $200,000. While the source data does not specify the exact number of expected awards, the listing indicates that awards were anticipated under the program. The original and current closing date for the referenced cycle was January 7, 2019, and the opportunity was created and posted on November 24, 2015. The activity categories associated with the program are Education and Health, and the relevant CFDA numbers are 93.242, 93.273, and 93.279, which correspond to NIH program areas that commonly encompass neuroscience and translational research portfolios.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic applicant organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; and independent school districts. Academic institutions are eligible across multiple categories, including public and state-controlled institutions of higher education as well as private institutions of higher education. Tribal entities are also included, both federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations. Nonprofit organizations are eligible whether or not they have 501(c)(3) status, provided they are not institutions of higher education under those nonprofit categories. The opportunity also permits applications from for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses, and it notes “Others” with a reference to additional eligibility details in the full announcement text. Overall, the eligibility structure reflects NIH’s interest in drawing proposals from universities, research institutes, biotech and pharma-adjacent organizations, and a wide range of public-sector entities that can contribute to translational neuroscience drug discovery.

In practical terms, a competitive application under this FOA would be expected to present a clear development plan for a novel therapeutic concept aimed at nervous system disorders, explain why the compound or compound class is new and promising, and outline preclinical experiments that meaningfully reduce risk for later-stage development. That usually means defining measurable milestones, using credible assays and models, and showing how the results will inform go/no-go decisions or next-step optimization. The overall theme is to accelerate the pipeline from early discovery toward a candidate that has enough supporting preclinical evidence to justify more advanced development efforts in subsequent funding stages.

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: HHS-NIH11

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Education, Health

Next opportunity: Pre-application: Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC): Comprehensive Functional Mapping of Neuroanatomy and Neurobiology of Organs (OT1)

Previous opportunity: Metabolomics Data Analysis (R03)

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