Bioactivity Assay Development Consulting Services

About This Grant

The Assay Development Consultant provides technical guidance to the following programs: • Assay Development consulting to support the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term [HEAL] Initiative HEAL initiative aims to optimize non-addictive Therapies [Small Molecules and Biologics] to treat Pain. • Assay Development consulting to support The Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Program [BPN] drug development programs. • Other NIH neuroscience-focused drug discovery and development programs. The NIH HEAL Initiative is an aggressive, trans-agency effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis. The Initiative will advance research to reduce the risks of opioid use and misuse and improve pain management, thereby reducing reliance on opioids. The HEAL program supports preclinical optimization and development of safe, effective, and non-addictive small molecule and biologic therapeutics to treat pain. The goal of the program is to accelerate promising small molecule and biologic hits/leads towards clinical trials. The HEAL program provides neuroscience researchers with funding and access to a full range of industry-style drug development services and expertise. The program is intended for projects requiring medicinal chemistry optimization and contract research organization (CRO) support through Phase I clinical testing. The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, a consortium of 8 NIH Institutes and Centers that support neuroscience research, established the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network (BPN) as a pipeline between the typical endpoint of NIH-funded research and the beginning of industry drug development. The BPN provides neuroscience researchers with funding and access to a full range of industry-style drug development services and expertise. The program is intended for projects requiring medicinal chemistry optimization and contract research organization (CRO) support through Phase I clinical testing.