IBD Therapeutics Incubator: Request for Proposals

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation (Foundation) is dedicated to addressing the unmet needs of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The goal of this

Request for Proposals (RFP) is to support research to create new therapeutic product opportunities derived from breakthrough academic research, which has identified novel and differentiated drug targets for the treatment of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Under the IBD Therapeutics Incubator program, the Foundation will partner with academic researchers and a specialized contract research organization (CRO) to provide drug discovery and development resources to generate a drug discovery preclinical package, that can be further advanced by larger venture investors and pharmaceutical/biotech companies, into new therapeutic products to address medical unmet needs of patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Specifically, this incubator-like mechanism enables the advancement of novel and validated drug targets discovered in academia and for which academic researchers lack adequate expertise and resources for drug discovery and development. In this therapeutics incubator model, the expert drug discovery and development staff of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation will take an active role in designing and leading the project(s), in collaboration with the academic applicant(s) and CRO scientists. The R&D work will be mainly performed by the CRO, and if required, some of the research activities can be performed by the academic partner at their facility.

For detailed information regarding the program scope, eligibility, policies, and application instructions click here to download the full RFP document. The proposal should align with the scope of the RFP (section 2). In summary, proposed drug targets should meet most if not all the following criteria:

1. Address an unmet need in Crohn’s disease and/or ulcerative colitis
2. Linked to the biology of Crohn’s disease and/or ulcerative colitis
3. Novel and differentiated mechanism of action
4. Have been validated in preclinical proof-of-concept studies
5. Druggable target
6. Screening assays are available
7. Tool compounds or antibodies are available
8. Biomarkers are available
9. Favorable safety profile

We anticipate investing up to $1,500,000 over a three-year period per project. While most of the budget will be used to fund activities at the selected CRO, in some instances funds could go to the academic investigator to support research activities not available at the CRO.

For further information about IBD unmet needs that can be addressed by new research-based products, refer to our latest publication: Honig G, Larkin PB, Heller C, Hurtado-Lorenzo A. (2021). Research-Based Product Innovation to Address Critical Unmet Needs of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 27(Suppl 2): S1-S16.

For an infographic of the IBD Therapeutics Incubator, fundamentals click here.

How to apply

Program information and application forms can be accessed and must be submitted through proposalCENTRAL.

• Navigate to the Grant Opportunities tab (top right)
• Filter by grant maker (select Crohn@s & Colitis Foundation) to find the application link for IBD Therapeutics Incubator

Deadline for proposal submission: October 3, 2022.

Questions? Contact

Jean-Luc Tran, Director, IBD Therapeutics Incubator and Dr. Andrés Hurtado-Lorenzo, VP Translational Research & IBD Ventures

ibdincubator@crohnscolitisfoundation.org