NIDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) (R41, R42, R43 and R44) Notice: Major Programmatic Priorities

Notice Number: NOT-DA-11-020

Release Date: May 27, 2011

Related Announcements
January 27, 2015 - NIDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) (R41, R42, R43 and R44) Notice: Programmatic Priorities. See Notice NOT-DA-15-041.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

The purpose of this notice is to alert the field to high program priorities relevant to the SBIR and STTR program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

The SBIR/STTR program is intended to meet, among others, the following goals: strengthen the role of small business in meeting Federal research or research and development (R/R&D) needs; increase the commercial application of Federally-supported research results; and improve the return on investment from Federally-funded research.

In this Notice, NIDA emphasizes its need to discover, evaluate and develop medications (both small molecules and biologics) to treat substance use disorders (SUDs). As such, this Notice underscores the importance of fostering research through NIDA SBIR/STTR Program aimed at the research and development of medications for SUD, as well as research aimed at modernizing the drug discovery and development toolkit.

Specifically, this Notice underscores the high programmatic priority given to research that seeks to achieve these goals in the following ways:

1) Drug discovery and development-enabling activities: Development of innovative technologies, methods or tools, including but not limited to:

• Innovative in vitro, in situ, or in vivo tools for the molecular analysis of the central nervous system, normal and/or diseased.
• Tools to simplify drug design through the use of advanced computing (simulation) methods.
• Development of pre-clinical models for addiction.
• Creation of a data repository / software tools for addiction-related clinical research data.
• Novel analytical technologies and methods that enhance the understanding of basic mechanisms of drug action and improve drug testing; technologies designed to overcome the performance limitations of current drug discovery and development tools.
• Technologies, including molecular imaging, gene expression profiling, and genotyping and sequencing approaches designed to better inform the diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders

2) Drug discovery and development activities: Application of emerging and existing technologies and platforms to SUD drug development. Medical products with potential to minimize drug seeking, compulsive behavior, and/or addictive processes are strongly encouraged. Examples might include, but are not limited to:

• Chemistry / pharmaceutical drug development
• Formulation and/or enhanced delivery of drugs
• Preclinical and/or clinical drug development
• Development of biomarkers related to treatment outcomes

NIDA Program Descriptions and Research Topics included in the 2011 SBIR and STTR Omnibus Solicitations of the NIH, CDC, FDA and ACF (PA-11-097 and PA-11-096, topic description at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbirsttr1/2011-2_SBIR-STTR-topics.pdf, applicable to NIDA opportunities only)which are not aimed at development of medications for substance-use disorders or at modernizing the drug discovery and development toolkit, will have low program priority.

Please direct all inquiries to:

Elena Koustova, PhD, MBA
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
6001 Executive Blvd., Room 4286 (Suite 4282)
Bethesda, MD 20892-9555
Tel: 301-496-8768
Fax: 301-594-6043
Email: [email protected]

Kristopher Bough, PhD
Program Officer, Medications Research Grants Branch (MRGB)
Div. of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
6001 Executive Blvd., Room 4153, MSC 9550
Bethesda, MD 20892
Tel: 301-443-9800
Email: [email protected]