Limited Competition: Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN) to Support Translational Studies for Acute Cerebroprotection - Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 22 004

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 22 004

The Limited Competition: Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN) to Support Translational Studies for Acute Cerebroprotection - Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity (RFA-NS-22-004) is a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NIH initiative designed to strengthen and speed up the path from promising stroke neuroprotection ideas to therapies that are ready for definitive clinical testing. The scientific premise is tied to recent progress in endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke. Because thrombectomy can restore blood flow in selected patients, it creates a renewed opening to evaluate cerebroprotective (neuroprotective) drugs or interventions used right before or at the moment blood flow is re-established, with the goal of protecting vulnerable brain tissue, extending the practical time window for reperfusion strategies, and ultimately improving long-term functional outcomes.

This particular FOA is focused specifically on funding a single Coordinating Center (CC) for the NIH Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN), rather than funding individual experimental sites. SPAN is structured to evaluate up to six high-priority neuroprotective candidates in rigorous, standardized preclinical ischemic stroke models, such as transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. These studies are meant to mimic clinically relevant conditions around reperfusion and to generate decision-quality evidence about which candidates are most likely to succeed if advanced into later-stage development and pivotal clinical trials. In practical terms, the network is intended to reduce the common gap between preclinical promise and clinical failure by enforcing consistency, transparency, and coordinated experimental execution across multiple participating sites.

As a U24 cooperative agreement, the award mechanism emphasizes active partnership with NIH program staff and a milestone-driven, team-science operating model. The Coordinating Center is expected to provide centralized administrative leadership and day-to-day coordination across the SPAN network sites that are funded separately under a related opportunity (referenced as RFA-NS-18-033). The CCs responsibilities typically include organizing network governance and communications, scheduling and supporting steering or oversight meetings, harmonizing protocols and operational procedures, coordinating the selection and sequencing of candidate therapies for testing, tracking progress against network timelines, and ensuring smooth collaboration among the preclinical testing sites. The CC also serves as the operational hub that helps keep multi-site studies aligned, comparable, and audit-ready, which is essential when the end product is intended to inform go/no-go decisions for expensive and high-stakes clinical trials.

The FOA is explicitly "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," reflecting that the supported work is not meant to be human subjects interventional research. The purpose is preclinical translation: controlled experimental testing in established models of ischemic stroke to identify the most promising acute cerebroprotective strategies that could later justify a clinical trial under a different funding mechanism. If the network succeeds, NINDS expects SPAN to accelerate therapy identification in a more time- and cost-effective way than isolated single-lab efforts, improving comparability across studies and generating stronger, more reliable evidence for translation.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program under the health activity category, with a cooperative agreement funding instrument type. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $600,000. The original closing date for applications was March 14, 2022, and the FOA was created on January 6, 2022. The program is associated with CFDA number 93.853 (NIH neuroscience-related funding line). Because this is a limited competition, it is intended for a restricted set of applicants, typically those able to meet specific network or program requirements laid out by NINDS.

Eligibility notes emphasize that a range of domestic organizational types may apply, including certain public entities and other organizations referenced in the posting (examples listed include independent school districts and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, among others). The FOA also highlights additional categories that may be eligible in NIH opportunities such as eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, certain tribal governments (other than federally recognized), regional organizations, and US territories or possessions. At the same time, the restrictions are clear that foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of US organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed. In other words, the Coordinating Center must be run as a domestic effort without foreign components.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as funding the backbone infrastructure for a coordinated national preclinical stroke neuroprotection testing effort. Rather than paying for a single set of experiments in one laboratory, it pays for the leadership, administration, harmonization, and cross-site coordination needed to run SPAN as a cohesive network capable of producing translationally credible results about which acute cerebroprotective interventions deserve to move forward toward clinical evaluation in the thrombectomy era.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN) to Support Translational Studies for Acute Cerebroprotection - Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-01-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-03-14. (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 $600,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Independent school districts, Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Others.

Apply for RFA NS 22 004

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