Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 20 009
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released this funding opportunity under the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative to push forward practical, science-based solutions that can improve pain care and, in turn, help reduce reliance on opioids. The program uses the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) mechanism, meaning it is built specifically to support partnerships between a small business and a U.S. research institution, with the goal of moving promising early innovations toward real-world products. The opportunity is titled "HEAL Initiative: Development of Therapies and Technologies Directed at Enhanced Pain Management (R41/R42 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is identified as RFA-NS-20-009.
At its core, this FOA is aimed at accelerating the development of better pain management options. NIH is looking for projects that can lead to new therapies, technologies, or enabling tools that make pain treatment more effective, safer, and less dependent on addictive drugs. A major emphasis is on creating non-addictive medications and devices for pain, as well as technologies that can measure pain more objectively. Because pain is often assessed through self-report and subjective clinical judgment, tools that provide more objective, quantifiable, or biologically grounded pain measurement are explicitly within scope. Alongside treatment-focused innovations, NIH also signals strong interest in the earlier parts of the development pipeline, such as novel screening tools and improved experimental models that are specifically designed for pain research and for evaluating potential pain therapies. In practical terms, this could include new assay systems, better translational models, or platform technologies that help identify and optimize candidate therapeutics or devices aimed at pain.
The award mechanism is STTR, using the R41/R42 phases. In the typical STTR structure, Phase I (R41) supports feasibility work, proof-of-concept development, and early validation, while Phase II (R42) supports more advanced R and D aimed at strengthening the evidence base, improving the prototype or lead candidate, and preparing for later commercialization and broader deployment. The fact that this announcement states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed" is important for project planning: applicants need to propose work that does not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial. This generally steers projects toward preclinical development, benchtop validation, engineering iteration, analytical validation, and other non-clinical human-subject research activities that do not involve prospectively assigning human participants to interventions to study health-related outcomes.
Eligibility is limited to small businesses, consistent with the STTR program. Foreign institutions (non-U.S. entities) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply as applicant organizations. However, the announcement notes that "foreign components," as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowed in some cases, which typically means certain discrete parts of the project could be conducted outside the U.S. if well-justified and permissible under NIH policy. The exact boundaries of what is acceptable depend on the NIH policy definitions and the specific structure of the proposed work, so applicants would need to confirm details in the full funding announcement and align their budgets, subawards, and statements of work accordingly.
Administratively, the opportunity is offered by NIH as a discretionary grant program within broad public health-related activity areas (education, health, income security, and social services). It is associated with multiple CFDA listings (including 93.213, 93.233, 93.273, 93.286, 93.350, 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.399, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867), reflecting the cross-cutting NIH institutes and centers that may participate or the multiple program areas that intersect with pain research and technology development. The announcement was created on 2019-10-04, and the original closing date listed is 2022-09-08. The provided source data does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, which typically means applicants must refer to the full FOA text or NIH related notices for the most precise funding and competitiveness details.
In summary, this HEAL Initiative STTR opportunity is designed for U.S. small businesses collaborating with research institutions to develop non-addictive pain treatments, pain management devices, objective pain measurement methods, and pain-focused screening tools or models, all while staying within a non-clinical-trial scope. The overarching intent is to shorten the time between promising pain science and usable products that can improve patient care and help address the opioid crisis through better, safer pain management options.Apply for RFA NS 20 009
- The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: Development of Therapies and Technologies Directed at Enhanced Pain Management (R41/R42 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): 93.213, 93.233, 93.273, 93.286, 93.350, 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.399, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2019-10-04.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-09-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
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| HEAL INITIATIVE: Development of Therapies and Technologies Directed at Enhanced Pain Management (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA NS 20 011 Funding Number: RFA NS 20 011 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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| BRAIN Initiative: Pilot resources for brain cell type-specific access and manipulation across vertebrate species (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA MH 20 556 Funding Number: RFA MH 20 556 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| BRAIN Initiative Fellows: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) Apply for RFA MH 20 620 Funding Number: RFA MH 20 620 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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