Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Technologies for Low-Resource Settings (R41/R42 - Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 802

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 802

The Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Technologies for Low-Resource Settings (R41/R42 - Clinical Trial Optional) opportunity is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant program designed to move practical cancer technologies toward real-world use in places where money, infrastructure, and specialized clinical capacity are limited. The core goal is to support commercially directed research and development by small business concerns that can improve cancer outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and in low-resource settings within the United States, including remote, rural, and underserved communities. Rather than funding basic science for its own sake, this FOA is oriented toward turning existing or emerging innovations into user-friendly products that can realistically be deployed where constraints like unreliable electricity, limited laboratory facilities, shortages of highly trained specialists, and fragile supply chains are everyday realities.

Projects are expected to focus on developing, adapting, applying, and validating technologies that fit the operational conditions of low-resource settings. In practice, that means the proposed products should be affordable, durable, and practical to use with limited staff training and minimal dependence on complex equipment or advanced health system supports. The FOA highlights that responsive technologies can span the cancer care continuum, including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, with examples such as tools that improve vaccine dissemination or delivery, imaging approaches suitable for constrained environments, in vitro diagnostic tests, and interventions for treating pre-cancerous (pre-neoplastic) or cancerous lesions that are preventable or treatable in these contexts. A key theme is usability: the technology should not only work in ideal conditions, but should also be designed so that frontline health workers can implement it consistently and safely.

A strong emphasis is placed on solutions that either directly provide treatment or immediately lead to treatment options that are already available in the local health system. This is an important point because it signals that the program is not just looking for better detection if detection does not translate into action. Competitive applications typically need to show a credible pathway from the technology to clinical decision-making and patient management in the intended setting, including how the product would integrate into existing workflows, referral patterns, and treatment capacity. In other words, the program prioritizes technologies that close the gap between identifying cancer risk or disease and actually doing something about it, especially where health systems have limited ability to follow up or provide complex therapies.

The funding mechanism uses the STTR R41/R42 structure and is marked as "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning applicants can propose projects that include clinical trial elements if appropriate, but a clinical trial is not required for every project. STTR awards are specifically meant to foster collaboration between a small business and a U.S. research institution, helping translate academic or laboratory advances into products with commercial potential. The overall intent is to de-risk development steps that matter for commercialization, such as prototype refinement, performance testing, validation studies, and evidence generation needed for future regulatory or market adoption, while keeping the end product aligned with the realities of low-resource environments.

Eligibility is limited to small businesses. Non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible. However, the FOA notes that certain foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowable, which can matter for projects that need limited international activities such as field validation or collaboration, as long as the applicant and primary organizational eligibility requirements are met. The opportunity is administered by NIH under CFDA numbers 93.394 and 93.395, and it was originally posted in 2018 with an original closing date listed as January 5, 2021.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Technologies for Low-Resource Settings (R41/R42 - Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.394, 93.395.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-05-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-01-05. (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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