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HCN Grants Est. 2026
No. PAR-25-352 · National Institutes of Health
Open

National Cooperative Drug/Device Discovery/Development Groups (NCDDG) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)

Dealbreakers No cost share required
No audit required
“This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms .” — From the announcement
Not reimbursement-only
“Funding Instrument Cooperative Agreement: A financial assistance mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement.” — From the announcement

At a glance

This program funds cooperative research groups working on new treatments and research tools for mental disorders, including drug discovery, biologics, and device development, with support through preclinical work, early human studies, and first-in-human or Phase I trials. It is open to U.S. higher education institutions, nonprofits, for-profits, governments, tribal governments, faith-based and community organizations, regional organizations, foreign organizations, and other listed entities, but non-domestic foreign entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. Award budgets are not limited, the project period may not exceed five years, and cost sharing is not required. The number of awards depends on NIH appropriations and the number of meritorious applications. Foreign components are allowed, and academic-industry partnerships are strongly encouraged.

AI-generated summary — verify against the announcement

What it funds

  • Health
  • Research & Discovery
  • Technology & Product Development
  • Patients & People with Health Conditions
  • Biomedical & Disease Research
  • Mental & Behavioral Health
  • Substance Use & Addiction
Official description from grants.gov

Reissue of PAR-20-118. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) encourages applications to advance the discovery, preclinical development, and proof of concept (PoC) testing of new, rationally based candidate agents and neurostimulation approaches to treat mental disorders, substance use disorders (SUDs) or alcohol use disorder (AUD), and to develop novel ligands and circuit-engagement devices as tools to further characterize existing or to validate new drug/device targets. Partnerships between academia and industry are strongly encouraged. This NOFO using the U01 mechanism supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies Projects seeking support for a research program of multiple projects directed toward a specific major objective, basic theme or program goal, requiring a broadly based, multidisciplinary and often long-term approach should consider the companion U19 FOA.

Who can apply

  • City or township governments
  • County governments
  • For-profit organizations other than small businesses
  • Independent school districts
  • Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
  • Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized)
  • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
  • Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
  • Others
  • Private institutions of higher education
  • Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
  • Public housing authorities / Indian housing authorities
  • Small businesses
  • Special district governments
  • State governments
Geographic restriction None found in the announcement — likely nationwide