Accelerating Drug Discovery for Frontotemporal Degeneration

Eligibility

Funding is open to researchers and clinicians in the U.S. and worldwide working in:

• Academic medical centers and universities or nonprofits. Industry partnerships are encouraged.
• Biotechnology companies that demonstrate a clear need for nonprofit funding. Existing companies and new spinouts are both eligible.

Because of our Venture Philanthropy model, all funding provided by the ADDF is through mission-related investments (MRIs) that require return on investment based upon scientific and/or business milestones. Return on investment can include equity, convertible notes or royalties and are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Please review our Funding Policies before applying.

Summary

The RFP supports:

• Lead optimization of novel disease-modifying compounds, including medicinal chemistry refinement and in vitro ADME.
• In vivo testing of novel lead compounds, biologics, vaccines or repurposed drug candidates in relevant animal models for pharmacokinetics, dose-range finding, target engagement, in vivo efficacy, and/or preliminary rodent tolerability studies.

This RFP does NOT support target identification, target validation, assay development, high-throughput and high-content screening. IND-enabling work is supported through ADDF’s Drug Development RFP.

Novel Drugs

The strongest applications will test a compound that has met many or all of the following criteria:

• Chemical structures of hits and leads have been assessed for structural liabilities
• Novel composition of matter patents have been filed or plans to generate novel composition of matter intellectual property (IP) have been developed

Repurposed/Repositioned Drugs

The strongest applications will test a repurposed or repositioned drug that has met many or all of the following criteria:

• The known side effects of the drug and how well they would be tolerated by the intended FTD population have been evaluated
• A supplier has been identified that will provide sufficient quantities of the drug or compound to complete the study aims
• Plans to develop novel IP around the repurposing/repositioning strategy have been considered

Preclinical Efficacy Studies

Applications that include preclinical efficacy studies should:

• Provide data demonstrating blood-brain barrier penetration (if the intended target is in the CNS)
• Justify dose, route of administration, and regimen with in vivo PK/PD data. If this data is not yet available, a PK/PD study aim should be included in the proposal
• Include measures of target engagement in the proposed animal study design
• Include measures to assess off-target effects with the potential to interfere with behavioral outcome measures (e.g., sedation)

Applicants are encouraged to follow the recommendations outlined in Shineman (2011), Roberson (2012), Vernay (2015), Snyder (2016), Wong (2018), Soloman (2018), and Giong (2021) when developing the animal study design.

Overhead

Not provided.

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST).

Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice.

Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application