Biotechnology Grants

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Frontotemporal Dementia Drug Discovery Program
The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and The Association for Frontotemporal Dementias (AFTD) seek to accelerate and support drug discovery for FTD and related dementias through this Request for Proposals (RFP.
Research investigating the pathologic mechanisms of neurodegeneration in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and related disorders has advanced recently, creating new potential targets for drug discovery.
Examples of programs appropriate for this RFP include, but are not limited to:
• Identification and in vitro testing of potentially disease modifying lead compounds
• Development and testing of novel high throughput screening assays
• Medicinal chemistry on lead compounds
• Testing of lead compounds in a relevant animal model for preclinical proof of concept
• ADME, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics on lead compounds
• Development and testing of targeted gene delivery strategies
• Development of biomarkers to accelerate drug development and early diagnosis
PLEASE NOTE: THIS FUNDING WILL NOT SUPPORT APPLICATIONS FOR BASIC RESEARCH
MECHANISM(S) OF SUPPORT
ADDF/AFTD will provide individual grants for one year duration with the possibility of follow on funding. Applications may be submitted by non-profit academic institutions and for-profit biotechnology companies, both public and private, worldwide. Collaborative teams of neuroscientists and researchers in drug discovery disciplines such as medicinal chemistry and drug delivery are also encouraged to apply.
REVIEW PROCESS
The deadline date for applications is September 22nd, 2008. Applications will be confidentially reviewed by ADDF and an external Scientific Review Committee, including AFTD scientific advisors. Applications from biotechnology companies will also be reviewed by ADDF’s external Business Advisory Board. Award-winners will be publicly announced in April 2009.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
All applications must be submitted electronically at www.AlzDiscovery.org.

NOVEL APPROACHES TO DRUG DISCOVERY FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Scope of the Program
The objective of this Request for Proposals (RFP) from the biotechnology industry and academia is to catalyze and accelerate the discovery and development of innovative and effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The program will fund high throughput screening of novel targets to identify hits and leads, lead validation and optimization through medicinal chemistry, and pre-clinical in-vitro and in-vivo evaluation, including pharmacology, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, formulation chemistry and the conduct of pre-clinical “proof of concept” studies.
A KEY FUNDING PRIORITY IS THE SUPPORT OF AD DRUG DISCOVERY IN EMERGING BIOTECH COMPANIES
The total number of grants awarded will be dependent upon the numbers, quality and costs of applications received. Proposals covering two years may be submitted, although the second year of funding will be contingent upon progress of the completed work, the investigator’s second-year work-plan, and the numbers and quality of competing proposals. Only one year of funding will be guaranteed. Former recipients of ADDF and ISOA funding are eligible to apply.
Funding Mechanism
If the award recipient is a biotechnology company, ADDF shall provide the grant funding in the form of a convertible note, an equity investment or a recoverable grant based on mutually agreed and negotiated terms.
If the award recipient is an academic institution, then ADDF shall provide funding in the form of an academic grant with terms that provide the Foundation with a return on its investment in the event of commercial success as a result of the research program funded by the Award as negotiated and mutually agreed.
Reporting Requirements
Scientific and financial progress reports are due every six months after the start of the award. A final report of research activities and expenditures is due at the termination of the funding period.
Eligibility Criteria
The proposed research may be conducted at a registered public or private biotechnology company or at any type of not-for-profit academic setting and the Principal Investigator must hold an MD or PhD degree.
Application Guidelines and Selection Criteria
All applications and supporting materials must be received by October 1, 2008. Applications will be reviewed by a Scientific Review Committee (SRC) and a final decision will be made by December 31, 2008.
The following criteria will be used to determine the merit of an application:
• Merit and feasibility of the proposed research and its relevance to drug discovery and development for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Qualifications of the scientific staff conducting the studies.
• Excellence of the research environment, including the availability of a multidisciplinary research team comprised of neuroscientists, medicinal chemists, pharmaceutical scientists, and the necessary animal models, facilities and equipment required for drug discovery and drug development. Research can be outsourced and consultants employed where appropriate and adequately justified.
• Likelihood that the project will lead to advancement in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Application Procedures
Application forms are available at www.AlzDiscovery.org.

If you are a scientist who has detailed knowledge of skeletal muscle molecular biology, pharmaceutical pipeline development, clinical trial design, pharmaceutical product development, glycobiology, biochemistry, stem cell research, or genetics, you may be eligible to obtain a grant to accelerate our effort towards FDA approved therapeutic clinical trials.

ARM (Advancement of Research for Myopathies)
P.O. Box 261926
Encino, CA 91426-1926
Telephone: (800) ARM-2000
Fax: (818) 337-7250

Promega Biotechnology Research Award

Supported by Promega Corporation, the Promega Biotechnology Research Award honors outstanding contributions to the application of biotechnology through fundamental microbiological research and development.

Eligibility Criteria
An outstanding contribution can be a single exceptionally significant achievement or the aggregate of a number of exemplary achievements.


Award
A cash prize of $5,000, a commemorative piece, and travel to the American Society for Microbiology General Meeting where the laureate delivers the Award Lecture. The award laureate and nominator are honored guests at the ASM awards banquet.

Nominations
Nominations must be received by October 1. Nominations for the award should be an individual with expertise in biotechnology; no person may submit more than one nomination in any year. Neither self-nominations nor co-nominations will be accepted. Nominations will be considered without updating for three years. Nominations must consist of the following:

Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications.
Letter of nomination. Describe the nominee's outstanding accomplishments in microbiological research and development, including a list of the ten most relevant publications to the award.
Letters of support. Two letters of support must come from persons, other than the nominator, who are familiar with the nominee's qualifications and accomplishments.
No more than one of the three letters may be from the nominee's institution or the same institution.
How to Submit Nominations
Email nominee's CV.

Email the letter of nomination.
Ask two supporters to email their letters.
Email all materials to awards@asmusa.org.

Nomination materials will not be returned.

The Gary Neil Prize for Innovation in Drug Development was established in 2004 to honor the memory of Gary Neil, Ph.D. Dr. Neil, a former leader of worldwide Research and Development at Wyeth-Ayerst, was a pioneer in the field of drug development. Dr. Neil was instrumental in creating a highly effective drug development and strategic decision-making structure at Alza through his roles as CEO and President of Therapeutic Discovery Corporation and Crescendo Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Dr. Neil had a significant role as a member of the boards of directors of Pharsight Corporation, Geron Corporation, Calydon and several other biotech companies.
The goal of the Gary Neil Prize for Innovation in Drug Development is to stimulate the application of innovative science to clinical drug development by recognizing outstanding individuals or teams who have been leaders in this area.

Eligibility
Individuals as well as teams from the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry are eligible for the Gary Neil Prize for Innovation in Drug Development. The only requirement is that the candidate be a leader in the application of significant, innovative science to clinical drug development.

Prize and Presentation
The Gary Neil Prize for Innovation in Drug Development will be presented at the ASCPT Annual Meeting. The recipient will receive a plaque and a $2,500 honorarium. Travel expenses, hotel expenses and meeting registration will be reimbursed by the Society.

For more information about the Gary Neil Prize for Innovation in Drug Development, please contact American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) at (703) 836-6981 or info@ascpt.org.

The Children's Eye Foundation is committed to providing funding to early career investigators for innovative projects in vision science that focus on the infant and child's visual system and its disorders, as well as strabismus in adults. Current priority funding areas include neurobiology, molecular biology, genetics and biotechnology.

During its 36+ years the Foundation has granted over $1 million in support of research and education to advance the understanding of, and care for, children with eye and visual system disorders and adults with strabismus. If you would like to apply for a Children's Eye Foundation Grant, please contact:

Richard W. Hertle, M.D.
Chief of Ophthalmology
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Director of Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus UPMC Eye Center, Eye & Ear Institute Professor of Ophthalmology and Bioengineering University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine.
Phone 412.692.8940
Fax 412.692.7220



Here are three projects currently being funded in part by the Foundation.

MAGNETOENCEPHALOGRAPHY (MEG) AND AMBLYOPIA TREATMENT

CELLULAR RELEASE OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR (VEGF) IN RESPONSE TO INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR (IGF-1) STIMULATION

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT IN PREMATURE INFANTS

Pharmaceutics > Research Starter Grants

Program

The purpose of the PhRMA Foundation Research Starter Grants is to offer financial support to individuals beginning their independent research careers at the faculty level. The areas of interest within this program are research efforts in the fields of pharmaceutics. The program provides a research grant of $30,000 per year for up to two years.

Research projects that extend or develop the proprietary value of specific drug products are not acceptable in this program. This exclusion does not preclude research in which specific drug products are used to test hypotheses that have a general applicability.

For the purposes of this program, pharmaceutics includes basic pharmaceutics, biopharmaceutics, pharmaceutical technology and pharmaceutical biotechnology. The fundamental aspects of pharmacokinetics are not included since they are covered by PhRMA Foundation programs in pharmacology and toxicology. It is anticipated that this research experience will occur in an academic and/or industrial laboratory setting.

The "starter" aspect of the program strives to assist those individuals who are establishing careers as independent investigators in the fields listed above. The program is not offered as a means to augment an ongoing research effort. Nor is the grant intended to be used for any direct effort to obtain further extramural funding. The funds are to be used to conduct the proposed research. This program supports individuals beginning independent research careers in academia who do not have other substantial sources of funding.

Funds are generally unrestricted, with flexibility of use - a characteristic of the program. In an effort to gain the maximum usefulness, some guidelines are in order. The funds may not be used for salary support of the grantee, but may be used to support technical assistance. No more than $500 a year may be used for travel to professional meetings by the grantee. Indirect costs are not provided to the institution, and grant funds may not be used for this purpose.

Applications, however good, which do not meet the aims of the program will be disapproved.

Eligibility

Those holding the academic, tenure track, rank of instructor or assistant professor and investigators at the doctoral level with equivalent positions are eligible to apply for these research starter grants, providing their proposed research is neither directly nor indirectly subsidized to any significant degree by an extramural support mechanism. Individuals holding non-tenure track positions, such as Research Assistant Professor or Visiting Assistant Professor, are not eligible to apply. The program is not intended for those in postdoctoral training programs. However, individuals in postdoctoral training scheduled to conclude, and who will hold an academic appointment, by January 1, 2008 may apply. Applicants must be sponsored by the department or unit within which the proposed research is to be undertaken. The grant is made to the university on behalf of the applicant and with the understanding that the university will administer the funds. Only schools of pharmacy are eligible for this award.

Applications must be submitted by a school of pharmacy accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education, and all applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Applicants will be judged on the scientific worthiness of the proposed research, and on the degree of need. If support is obtained after the application has been submitted, the Foundation must be so informed.

Before an individual is eligible to apply for a PhRMA Foundation award, the applicant must first have a firm commitment from a U.S. university.

Application Information

Applications for research starter grant awards are to be submitted online October 1, 2008. Please note that no applications will be accepted after the deadline date.

Awards to be made for the year beginning January 1, 2008 will be acknowledged no later than December 15, 2008.