Pandemic Antiviral Discovery| Henipavirus Request for Proposals

PAD – Pandemic Antiviral Discovery – is a global philanthropic initiative launched by: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Open Philanthropy in the US, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) in Denmark. The aspiration for PAD is to help researchers worldwide identify and develop phase 2-ready antiviral drug candidates targeting pandemic threat viruses, including coronaviruses, paramyxoviruses, and orthomyxoviruses. This will greatly improve the chances that effective antivirals can be developed and deployed much faster next time the world faces a pandemic threat.

The RFP will support projects that seek to elucidate the molecular determinants of henipavirus replication, pathogenesis and transmission for the purpose of developing therapeutic discovery programs targeting virus and/or host-specific targets important for virus replication. Projects can be of both novel and exploratory nature and of later-stage validation/developmental nature.

Funding:       No set ceiling

Duration:      1-3 years

Eligibility: PAD seeks to actively engage researchers from all over the world as part of the drug discovery process, but applicants must be established investigators with their own line of research and must be employed for the duration of the project at the administrating institution registered in the proposal. The administrating institution/organization must be able to accept and manage the potential grant. Projects can be anchored at any type of research organization, including academia, not-for profit and commercial organizations. The scope of the project must be within the scientific scope of this RfP and support the PAD aspirations. An applicant (i.e., the principal investigator (PI) responsible for the project and submitting the proposal) may submit only one proposal to this specific RfP. Different PI’s can be anchored at the same institution/organization

How to Apply: The proposal must be completed and submitted using NNF’s1 online application and grant management system, NORMA, which can be accessed from: https://norma.novonordiskfonden . The application and evaluation process consists of different phases. The first phase starts by submitting a proposal to this RfP. Proposals and material submitted will be evaluated by scientific program officers from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Philanthropy and Novo Nordisk Foundation. Based on this evaluation, the outcome can be one of the following: a) an invitation to submit a full proposal to one of the three foundations; b) an invitation for an elaborative pitch to all three foundations; or c) a rejection letter informing the applicants that their proposal will not be considered for funding. Notification of outcome of the first phase is expected by the end of June 2022.

Deadline:      05 May 2022

Further information

• More information about the program is available here
• The application portal can be found here
• For any other questions, please contact the Research Office