NCATS Pilot Program for Collaborative Drug Discovery Research using Bioprinted Skin Tissue (U18) | RFA TR 17 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA TR 17 007

The NCATS Pilot Program for Collaborative Drug Discovery Research using Bioprinted Skin Tissue (U18) is a National Institutes of Health funding opportunity designed to push forward more realistic, laboratory-made human tissue models that can be used to find and evaluate drugs. The main focus is on creating and using 3D-bioprinted skin tissue in ways that directly support drug discovery, including both efficacy testing (whether a candidate drug works) and toxicology research (whether it is harmful). Rather than funding projects where an outside lab works in isolation, this program is built around a structured collaboration between external (extramural) research teams and the NCATS intramural 3-D Bioprinting Program, with NCATS playing an active, hands-on scientific role.

The core idea is to combine what each side is best positioned to contribute. NCATS intramural scientists provide specialized expertise and capabilities in 3D bioprinting, the development of assays that can measure meaningful biological responses in the printed tissues, and drug screening workflows. Extramural investigators, on the other hand, bring the biological and clinical relevance: they supply appropriate cell resources, especially patient-derived cells, and contribute deep disease-area knowledge and validation strategies to confirm that the printed skin model is truly representing the condition being studied. In practice, the funded work is expected to follow a pipeline that includes printing tissues in a screening-compatible format using patient-derived cells provided by the external team, followed by characterization and validation of the bioprinted materials carried out jointly by NCATS and the collaborators, and then screening of molecular libraries to identify compounds that produce desirable effects or reveal safety concerns.

This opportunity is offered as a cooperative agreement (U18), which signals that the NIH does not just provide funding and step back, but anticipates substantial scientific involvement from the federal partner during the project. The funding announcement is identified as RFA-TR-17-007, falls under the health funding activity category, and is associated with CFDA number 93.350. The listed award ceiling is $400,000, and the original closing date for applications was April 14, 2017, indicating this was a time-limited pilot solicitation rather than an open-ended standing program.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many types of government entities and research performers. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not foreign entities); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. It also includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations. The FOA explicitly highlights additional eligible categories such as 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, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, the program clearly restricts foreign participation: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined by NIH policy are not allowed.

Taken together, the program is essentially a translational pilot mechanism aimed at improving the realism and utility of preclinical testing by moving beyond traditional 2D cell culture and toward 3D bioprinted human skin tissues that can be run in screening formats. The expected outcome is not just a single academic proof-of-concept, but a collaboratively built model and screening approach that can reveal drug activity and safety signals in a system that better mimics human biology, supported by NCATS technical infrastructure and by external disease-specific expertise and patient-derived cellular materials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NCATS Pilot Program for Collaborative Drug Discovery Research using Bioprinted Skin Tissue (U18)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.350.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-02-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-04-14. (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 $400,000.00 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 TR 17 007

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