On May 3, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched its Discovering New Therapeutic Uses for Existing Molecules program. The program matches researchers to 58 industry compounds to help scientists find new treatments for patients.

$20 million for 2-3 year staged, cooperative agreements will be provided to support preclinical and clinical feasibility studies. Interested applicants are invited to submit pre-applications by August 14.  Successful applicants will be invited to submit a UH2/UH3 or UH3 application by December 17.

These compounds have already undergone robust testing in phase 2/3 clinical trials and have demonstrated that modulating their molecular targets was not a valid approach for their original indications, but were generally safe in humans. This call for proposals invites researchers to conduct pre-clinical and clinical testing of these compounds for alternative disease pathways and indications.

“The goal is simple: To see whether we can teach old drugs new tricks." U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

WEBINAR - JUNE 25,  10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., ZNI 112: Herklotz Seminar Room (map)

Following the webinar, the SC CTSI will be available to discuss how the institute can support prospective applicants in developing strategies for repurposing compounds for their proposals. If you are unable to attend in person, register for the webinar here by June 22. Submit questions to the NIH in advance to therapeutics.discovery@nih.gov.

Get all the information you need about this new pilot program here.

For questions about the webinar or pilot program, please contact the SC CTSI Preclinical Translation and Regulatory Support program at 323.442.1280.