The National Institutes of Health announced last week that it is aiming to develop new and improved therapeutics to treat injuries from exposure to chemical threats.
The grant is entitled the “Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT): Identification of Therapeutic Lead Compounds.”
The announcement comes in the form of a funding opportunity announcement and requests new research applications for cooperative agreement research projects (U01s) seeking support for research on the identification of small molecule or biologic lead compounds that would be good candidates for therapeutic development. The studies must result in the identification of at least one lead compound ready for advanced therapeutic development.
Lead compounds are biologically active and synthetically feasible compounds where specificity, affinity, potency, target selectivity, efficacy and safety have been established.
Eligible applicants include public housing authorities, special district governments, small businesses, Native American tribal governments, independent school districts, city governments, private institutions of higher learning, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, state governments, non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, county governments, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and various Native American tribal organizations.