Novel Tools and Devices for Animal Research Facilities and to Support Care of Animal Models (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 19 265

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 265

The NIH grant opportunity titled "Novel Tools and Devices for Animal Research Facilities and to Support Care of Animal Models (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" is an SBIR-focused funding announcement aimed specifically at small business concerns that want to build practical, technology-driven solutions for laboratory animal research settings. The program is designed to push forward new tools and devices that make it easier and safer to handle research animals, streamline day-to-day animal facility operations, and improve the quality, consistency, or efficiency of experiments that rely on animal models. At its core, the FOA is about enabling innovations that support both animal welfare and the research environment, recognizing that better tools and facility infrastructure can reduce stressors for animals, improve husbandry and monitoring, and ultimately strengthen the reliability of biomedical and biobehavioral research results.

This opportunity uses the SBIR grant mechanisms R43 and R44, which generally align with a phased development pathway: an early-stage phase for proof-of-concept work and feasibility (R43/Phase I), followed by a later-stage phase for more extensive development and commercialization-oriented progress (R44/Phase II). The "Clinical Trial Not Allowed" designation makes clear that the funded work must not be structured as a clinical trial, which in practice keeps the emphasis on research tools, devices, and facility innovations rather than human-subjects clinical testing.

From a topic standpoint, the FOA emphasizes three broad impact areas. First, it seeks devices or tools that directly improve the handling and care of laboratory animals, which can include innovations that reduce animal stress, improve safety for animal care staff and researchers, and enhance routine husbandry practices. Second, it encourages technologies that simplify or modernize management of animal facilities, meaning solutions that improve workflow, monitoring, sanitation, logistics, or overall operational efficiency in vivariums and related animal research environments. Third, it supports tools that enhance animal-model-based experimentation itself, such as equipment or systems that improve environmental control, standardization, monitoring, data capture, or other aspects of how animal studies are conducted, with the idea that better-controlled conditions and better instrumentation can improve reproducibility and research quality.

A major theme running through the announcement is that the proposed products should offer tangible benefits to animal welfare and to the facility conditions that support research. This includes improving infrastructure and environmental conditions within animal facilities, which can mean more precise control of factors like housing conditions, enrichment, and other facility-level variables that affect animal well-being and experimental outcomes. The FOA language signals an interest in applied, implementable innovations that can be designed, built, tested, and ultimately used in real animal research settings.

Eligibility is limited to small businesses, consistent with SBIR requirements, and the sponsor is the National Institutes of Health. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the grant funding instrument under the health activity category. The listing includes CFDA number 93.351. In terms of geography and organizational eligibility, foreign institutions (non-U.S. entities) are explicitly not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, the FOA notes that "foreign components" may be allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means a U.S.-based applicant might be able to justify and include certain limited foreign activities or collaborations if they are necessary and meet NIH policy definitions and approvals, even though the applicant organization itself must be U.S.-based and eligible.

The funding opportunity number is PAR 19 265, and the original closing date listed is 2021-04-05, with a creation date of 2019-05-02. The source data does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, so those details are not provided in the excerpt. Overall, the program is best understood as a targeted NIH SBIR pathway for small companies building next-generation tools and facility-support devices that improve animal care, reduce operational burdens in animal research facilities, and strengthen animal-model research through better equipment and environmental management, without venturing into clinical trial territory.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Novel Tools and Devices for Animal Research Facilities and to Support Care of Animal Models (R43/R44 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): 93.351.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-05-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for PAR 19 265

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