June 27, 2024
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) invites applications focused on the preclinical discovery, evaluation and development of oral direct-acting small molecule therapeutics targeting selected viruses of pandemic potential. The ultimate goal of this NOSI is to build a more robust pipeline of candidate antiviral drugs suitable for widespread use in the community in future outbreaks and/or pandemics.
Typical drug discovery programs require several years to progress through initial lead series identification and optimization to selection of a candidate drug for clinical trials. Availability of a broader range of antiviral compounds may help shorten the time needed to identify promising lead drug candidates when unexpected outbreaks arise. This NOSI builds on the Antiviral Program for Pandemics , which was launched in 2021 with funding from the American Rescue Plan.
The objective of this NOSI is to support the discovery and development of small molecule compounds (MW < 2 kDa) with activity against viral targets that can be administered orally as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs to treat infections caused by viruses of pandemic potential. Activities are anticipated to range from early discovery and optimization of lead series with activity against a specific pathogen or viral family, to late-stage preclinical development and IND-enabling profiling of specific drug candidates. Collaboration with pharma to access chemical starting points and critical medicinal chemistry, regulatory and drug development expertise is strongly encouraged. Applications should include multidisciplinary activities appropriate to the projects stage of discovery and development. Areas of interest include but are not limited to:
Applications focused on antiviral research on viruses from one or more viral pathogens from the following RNA virus families of pandemic potential are in scope of the NOSI:
Applications proposing any of the following will NOT be supported under this NOSI:
This notice applies to application receipt dates on or after October 5, 2024, and subsequent receipt dates through July 16, 2027.
Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following funding opportunity announcements (NOFOs) or any reissues of these announcements through the expiration date of this notice.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:
Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative.
Please direct all inquiries to the contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunity with the following additions/substitutions:
Scientific/Research Contact(s)
Mindy Davis, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Virology Branch
Telephone: 301-761-6689
Email: mindy.davis@nih.gov
Dipanwita Basu, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Respiratory Diseases Branch
Telephone: 240-627-3469
Email: dipanwita.basu@nih.gov
Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)
Vandhana Khurana
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 240-669-2966
Email: khuranav@niaid.nih.gov