Pharmaceutics/Drug Delivery Grants

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Therapeutics Development Initiative 2010 Industry-Exclusive Funding for Preclinical PD Research

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) announces the launch of the Therapeutics Development Initiative – Spring 2010, a funding mechanism to support and stimulate preclinical Parkinson’s disease research at for-profit institutions. Part of the annual Pipeline Programs, this funding program seeks to support preclinical development of Parkinson’s disease therapies which have the potential for fundamentally altering disease course and/or improving treatment of symptoms above and beyond current standards of care. Proposals must focus on key and critical preclinical studies necessary for developing, optimizing and evaluating therapeutic strategies that, if successful, can move into human testing.

Responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project will be solely that of the principal investigator who must be an employee of a for-profit entity. Academic investigators may have an advisory role in the project, but the operational and strategic ownership of the project must reside within the company.

Please note that pre-proposals are mandatory for the Therapeutics Development Initiative – Spring 2010 program and will be used to evaluate your proposal’s fit with the stated aims and review criteria of the RFP. All pre-proposals received in response to this program will be subjected to a triage process and only those pre-proposals deemed to be of suitable scientific merit will be invited to submit a full application.

Although MJFF has no pre-conceived ideas about the kinds of projects that are submitted to its various Pipeline
Programs (including TDI), ideal applications will focus on efforts related to at least one of the following priority
areas:
· Work to define and develop strategies that protect or restore degenerating and/or dysfunctional neurons
affected in PD.
· Work toward better understanding and improved treatment of motor symptoms of PD.
· Work to better define and treat non-motor symptoms of PD, such as cognitive dysfunction/dementia,
depression/mood disorders, autonomic dysfunction, or sleep disorders.
· Work that could lead to strategies for alleviating complications of PD treatment including dyskinesias.

Further program details, guidance about the types of proposals and focus areas of greatest interest to MJFF, and instructions for submission can be found in the RFP.

Note: The TDI program is launched approximately every six months. If you are unable to submit to the Spring 2010 funding cycle, the deadline for submission to the next cycle will be in June 2010.

MJFF employs an expedited, abbreviated granting mechanism to accelerate discoveries and ultimately translate findings to PD patients more quickly.

Submission Deadlines:
6 p.m. ET, Tuesday, December 15, 2009 (Spring Cycle)
6 p.m. ET, Tuesday, June 1, 2010 (Fall Cycle)

Anticipated Funding:
June 2010 (Spring Cycle)
December 2010 (Fall Cycle)

MJFF will hold a 45 minute long conference call on October 22, 2009 at 12:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time to clarify and explain the Therapeutics Development Initiative 2010 program and to answer applicants' questions. To participate in this call, you must RSVP via email to conferencecalls@michaeljfox.org. Participants will receive a reply with call-in details.

If you would like to contact the Foundation, please send an email, call toll-free at 1-800-708-7644, or contact us by regular mail at the following address:

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
Church Street Station
P.O. Box 780
New York, NY 10008-0780

American Diabetes Association Henry Becton Innovation Award

Award Description: These pilot and feasibility grants are designed to support hypotheses in the following areas:

• medical informatics in direct patient therapy
• advanced methods of insulin delivery
• community-based care
• role of allied health professionals
• care of children with type 2 diabetes

Support: Awards are a maximum of $50,000 per year for up to two years. No indirect costs may be requested.
Deadline Dates: January 15, 2010 for July 1, 2010 funding and July 15, 2010 for January 1, 2011 funding.

American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22311

Tel: (703) 549-1500 FAX: (703)-549-1715
Web Address: http://professional.diabetes.org