Current funding opportunities

• [DEADLINE UPDATE] Vivli has announced the 2024 Vivli AMR Surveillance Data Challenge. This particular challenge is funded by GARDP, Paratek, Pfizer and Vivli and aims to encourage and support the innovative re-use of surveillance data shared by GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Shionogi, Paratek and Venatorx that are now available in the Vivli AMR Register. This is 2^nd AMR data challenge from Vivli — see the 20 Oct 2023 newsletter for a discussion of the outcome of this first challenge. This 2nd challenge offers monetary prizes, including travel funding to attend ESCMID Global or ASM Microbe in 2025 (if an abstract is accepted), and a new AMR Student Innovation Award. The deadline for expressions of interest has been extended to 11 Aug 2024. For more details, go here; you might also review the GARDP REVIVE webinar on 23 Jul 2024 that focused on the program.
• Environmental AMR issues, anyone? ICARS has call open through 1 Aug 2024 for “projects in the public health sphere that aim to mitigate the evolution and transmission of resistance in the natural or built environment.” Grants are available of up to $800k for up to 4 years. Go here for details; for questions and submissions, write to RFP_EDAR@icars-global.org. Applicants should also refer to “Mitigating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) using implementation research: a development funder’s approach” from JAC 2023 (https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlad031).
• [NEW] The GHIT Fund has announced its 21st Request for Proposals for its Hit-to-Lead Platform to support drug discovery and development process to address Malaria, Tuberculosis, Chagas disease, and Visceral leishmaniasis. Go here for the RFP: GHIT-RFP-HTLP-2024-002. The deadline is 30 Aug 2024.
• The AMR Industry Alliance have announced the 2024 edition of their ongoing annual series of stewardship prizes. Applications for innovative approaches to AMR stewardship are sought from public, private or not-for-profit health care organization or institution operating in an LMIC. This year’s deadline is 1 Sep 2024. Go here for details.
• ENABLE-2 has continuously open calls for both its Hit-to-Lead program as well as its Hit Identification/Validation incubator. Applicants must be academics and non-profits in Europe due to restrictions from the funders. Applications are evaluated in cycles … see the website for details on current timing for reviews. 
• CARB-X has open calls at intervals that span four areas: (i) Therapeutics for Gram-Negatives, (ii) Prevention for Invasive Disease, (iii) Diagnostics for Neonatal Sepsis, and (iv) Proof-Of-Concept for Diagnosing Lower-Respiratory-Tract Infections. See this 6 Mar 2024 newsletter for a discussion of the call and go here for the CARB-X webpage on the call. There are multiple opportunities to submit — see the CARB-X webpage for details.
• BARDA’s long-running BAA (Broad Agency Announcement) for medical countermeasures (MCMs) for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases is now BAA-23-100-SOL-00004 and offers support for both antibacterial and antifungal agents (as well as antivirals, antitoxins, diagnostics, and more). Note especially these Areas of Interest: Area 3.1 (MDR Bacteria and Biothreat Pathogens), Area 3.2 (MDR Fungal Infections), and Area 7.2 (Antibiotic Resistance Diagnostics for Priority Bacterial Pathogens). Although prior BAAs used a rolling cycle of 4 deadlines/year, the updated BAA released 26 Sep 2023 has a 5-year application period that ends 25 Sep 2028 and is open to applicants regardless of location: BARDA seeks the best science from anywhere in the world! See also this newsletter for further comments on the BAA and its areas of interest.
• HERA Invest was launched August 2023 with €100 million to support innovative EU-based SMEs in the early and late phases of clinical trials. Part of the InvestEU program supporting sustainable investment, innovation, and job creation in Europe, HERA Invest is open for application to companies developing medical countermeasures that address one of the following cross-border health threats: (i) Pathogens with pandemic or epidemic potential, (ii) Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats originating from accidental or deliberate release, and (iii) Antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Non-dilutive venture loans covering up to 50% of investment costs are available. A closing date is not posted insofar as I can see — applications are accepted on a rolling basis; go here for more details.
• The AMR Action Fund is open on an ongoing basis to proposals for funding of Phase 2 / Phase 3 antibacterial therapeutics. Per its charter, the fund prioritizes investment in treatments that address a pathogen prioritized by the WHO, the CDC and/or other public health entities that: (i) are novel (e.g., absence of known cross-resistance, novel targets, new chemical classes, or new mechanisms of action); and/or (ii) have significant differentiated clinical utility (e.g., differentiated innovation that provides clinical value versus standard of care to prescribers and patients, such as safety/tolerability, oral formulation, different spectrum of activity); and (iii) reduce patient mortality. It is also expected that such agents would have the potential to strongly address the likely requirements for delinked Pull incentives such as the UK (NHS England) subscription pilot and the PASTEUR Act in the US. Submit queries to contact@amractionfund.com.
• INCATE (Incubator for Antibacterial Therapies in Europe) is an early-stage funding vehicle supporting innovation vs. drug-resistant bacterial infections. The fund provides advice, community, and non-dilutive funding (€10k in Stage I and up to €250k in Stage II) to support early-stage ventures in creating the evidence and building the team needed to get next-level funding. Details and contacts on their website (https://www.incate.net/).
• These things aren’t sources of funds but would help you develop funding applications
  • AiCuris’ AiCubator offers incubator support to very early stage projects. Read more about it here.
  • The Global AMR R&D Hub’s dynamic dashboard (link) summarizes the global clinical development pipeline, incentives for AMR R&D, and investors/investments in AMR R&D.
  • Diagnostic developers would find valuable guidance in this 6-part series on in vitro diagnostic (IVD) development. Sponsored by CARB-X, C-CAMP, and FIND, it pulls together real-life insights into a succinct set of tutorials.
• In addition to the lists provided by the Global AMR R&D Hub, you might also be interested in my most current lists of R&D incentives (link) and priority pathogens (link).