NEI Translational Research Program for Therapeutics (R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The National Eye Institute (NEI) is currently offering a grant dedicated to the conversion of innovative research findings into medicine for visual system diseases or disorders, known as the Translational Research Program for Therapeutics. However, this grant does not include clinical trials (referenced as R33).

The aim of this grant is to speed up the process in which innovative laboratory research is transformed into treatments that medical practitioners can utilize. These treatments strategies could include biological, pharmacological, medical devices or a combination of these.

Teams of clinicians and scientists must work together, focusing their attention on generating vital preclinical data. This data plays an integral role in developing new intervention methods. These methods should be detailed in a series of milestones leading toward the creation of a product or therapeutic that will usher in a new phase of Investigational New Drug (IND) or Investigational Device Exception (IDE) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This could potentially lead these findings to be tested in a clinical trial.

The R33 grant is specifically designed to advance a singular therapeutic candidate by conducting IND/IDE enabling studies, submitting an IND package to the FDA, and designing future clinical trials.

On a side note, if your work is on early stage applied research, you might want to consider the companion grant (R61/R33) identified as NOFO PA-23-XXX.