Revision Applications for Mechanisms of Drug Resistance (P01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) | RFA CA 19 052

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 19 052

The grant opportunity titled "Revision Applications for Mechanisms of Drug Resistance (P01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" (RFA-CA-19-052) is a National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding announcement tied to the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which was created to speed up progress in cancer research. This particular announcement is focused on supplementing and strengthening already-funded NCI Research Program Project Grants (P01s) by allowing current awardees to submit revision applications that add new aims, new research directions, or both. The central goal is to deepen understanding of why cancers become resistant or refractory to therapies, and to use that knowledge to guide better preclinical study design and encourage the development of more effective single-agent or combination treatment strategies aimed at resistant tumors and their surrounding tumor microenvironment. As stated in the title, clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA, meaning the work should remain at the mechanistic and preclinical level rather than testing interventions in human trial settings.

In practical terms, the FOA is meant for teams already operating within an NCI-funded P01 structure who have a strong base of ongoing projects and want to extend that program in a targeted way to address drug resistance. The emphasis is on generating actionable biological and translational insights that can inform clinically relevant strategies, even if the funded activities themselves do not include clinical trials. Typical scientific themes implied by the announcement include identifying molecular and cellular pathways that drive resistance, understanding how tumor heterogeneity and evolution contribute to treatment failure, examining how the immune system or stromal components in the tumor microenvironment influence resistance, and designing rational preclinical experiments that better predict which combinations or sequencing of therapies might overcome or prevent resistance.

The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is listed under education and health (CFDA 93.396). An award ceiling of $250,000 is provided in the source data, indicating an upper limit on the amount available under the specific award parameters presented. The original closing date listed is June 23, 2021, and the FOA creation date is September 5, 2019. While the source snippet does not specify the number of expected awards, the intent is clearly to enable revisions to existing funded program projects rather than to support entirely new standalone projects.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizational types, reflecting typical NIH eligibility language. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other organizations that meet NIH eligibility requirements. The FOA also explicitly highlights several categories of "other eligible applicants," including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible agencies of the federal government, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, there are clear restrictions regarding foreign participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, described as foreign organizations or foreign institutions, are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means a U.S. applicant can include certain foreign collaborations or sites as part of the project when they are scientifically justified and compliant with NIH policy, even though a foreign institution cannot serve as the primary applicant.

Overall, this FOA is designed to push existing NCI program project teams to take on high-value, resistance-focused expansions of their current research portfolios, with an emphasis on uncovering mechanisms and building preclinical evidence that can help the field develop better therapeutic strategies against cancers that stop responding to treatment. The Cancer Moonshot connection underscores the urgency and translational intent: the work should aim to produce insights that can realistically shape how resistant or refractory disease is targeted, while staying within the boundary that clinical trials themselves are not part of the allowable scope for this specific funding announcement.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Revision Applications for Mechanisms of Drug Resistance (P01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.396.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-09-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-23. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA CA 19 052

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