Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Research Centers of Excellence (U54)

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Purpose. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages grant applications for Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Research Centers of Excellence (U54s). The mission of the CounterACT U54 program is to develop new and improved therapeutics for chemical threats. Chemical threats are toxic chemicals that could be used in a terrorist attack or accidentally released from industrial production, storage or shipping. They include traditional chemical warfare nerve agents such as sarin and VX, and toxic industrial chemicals and pesticides such as cyanide, chlorine, parathion, and sodium fluoroacetate. The scope of the research to be supported includes target and candidate identification and characterization, through candidate optimization and demonstration of in vivo efficacy, through Investigational New Drug (IND) submission and Phase 1 clinical trials when appropriate. Each new CounterACT Research Center of Excellence will be composed of an administrative core, scientifically related research and development subprojects, and scientific cores if needed and justified. Applicants must demonstrate that the formation of an interdisciplinary Center will produce a synergistic research environment that allows each project to share the creative strengths and resources of the others. Research and development plans must include milestones that create discrete go or no-go decision points in a progressive translational study plan. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the Specialized Center Cooperative Agreement (U54) grant mechanism and runs in parallel with a FOA of identical scientific scope, PAR-10-180 that encourages applications under the Research Project Cooperative Agreements (U01) program. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The participating Institutes intend to commit an average of $6 million per year in Fiscal Years 2011, 2012, and 2013 to fund new and/or competing renewal awards. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the number, quality, duration, and costs of the applications received.

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