NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Program Cooperative Agreements Webinar

Virtual webinar at 4 PM EST

The Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Program is a trans-NIH initiative that supports research and development of new and improved therapeutics against chemical threat agents. Additionally, the program facilitates the movement of medical countermeasures through the drug development and regulatory processes in collaboration with other federal departments, agencies, and initiatives. Program staff will provide an overview of three closely-related cooperative agreement funding mechanisms.

PAR-19-039 Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT): Identification of Therapeutic Lead Compounds (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
The scope of research supported includes confirmation of molecular targets for therapeutic development, in vitro and in vivo demonstration of efficacy and safety, and initial characterization of potential therapeutic compounds.

PAR-19-040 Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT): Optimization of Therapeutic Lead Compounds (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)
The scope of research supported includes demonstration of efficacy in animal models, consistent with the intended use of the product in humans. It can also include study of pharmacology, toxicology, and scalable synthesis of the lead compound.

PAR-20-316 NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Research Centers of Excellence (U54 - Clinical Trial Optional)
The Centers will contain at least three research projects with the intention of advancing projects from target identification to lead identification though to lead optimization and will be further supported by administrative, scientific, and training cores.

All funded research programs must include milestones that create discrete go or no-go decision points in a progressive translational study plan.

All investigators interested in learning about these exciting opportunities and the CounterACT program are encouraged to register and participate. You can pose questions at the webinar or you can send them before the meeting to Dr. Neel Dhruv.