Expanding the Target Landscape by Drugging the Undruggable (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Updated Oct 20, 2026

Grant from the National Institutes of Health, open to small businesses. Closes Feb 17, 2028, 485 days left.

Opportunity number	PAR-25-442
Agency	National Institutes of Health
Funding type	Grant
Field	Health
Cost sharing or matching	Not required
Assistance listing	93.121, 93.242, 93.350, 93.855, 93.865, 93.867
Posted	Jun 17, 2025
Closes	Feb 17, 2028 (485 days left)
Add the deadline to	Google Calendar

Who can apply

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 and Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education
Private institutions of higher education
For-profit organizations other than small businesses
Small businesses
Others (see the eligibility notes)

Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government; Faith-based or Community-based Organizations; Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Regional Organizations; Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) ; U.S. Territory or Possession; Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Description

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to solicit applications for exploratory and early-stage projects that focus on undruggable target classes within intractable human disease. Applicants will identify a human disease relevant undruggable target class and develop a method or agent that is selective for one or more targets within that target class. This NOFO is intended to jumpstart research that demonstrates innovative strategies to modulate targets that cannot be addressed by established therapeutic types, furthering the development of methods and/or agents selective for undruggable target classes.

Full announcement and how to apply on Grants.gov

Health grants right now

There are 350 open federal grants in health that small businesses may apply for; 33 close within 30 days. The median award ceiling is $500,000. The agencies offering the most are National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA and Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD. Grants in this field stay open a median of 1031 days; this one is open for 975 days.

Who has won this program before

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center $443.7 million · from Jun 29, 2006
University Of Washington $83.6 million · from Mar 1, 1997
Regents Of The University Of California, SAN Francisco, The $82.5 million · from Mar 1, 1997
President And Fellows Of Harvard College $76.7 million · from Jul 1, 2004
University Of Alabama AT Birmingham $69.9 million · from Mar 30, 1988

The largest grants and cooperative agreements under assistance listing 93.121, 93.242, 93.350, 93.855, 93.865, 93.867 with payments since Oct 1, 2025, from USAspending.gov. Amounts are each award's total.