Deadline: 28-May-2025
The Breakthrough T1D is accepting applications for the to improve the efficiency of scaling protocols for manufactured islet cell therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D) via development of supportive technologies tackling one or more of the barriers associated with implementation and expansion of next-generation beta cell replacement therapies.
Scope
- Breakthrough T1D’s role is to enable the scientific community to address these challenges with the ultimate goal of accelerating the development of safe and effective islet cell therapies that are available to all individuals living with established T1D. Therefore, Breakthrough T1D is soliciting Letters of Intent (LOI) from investigators in academic and industry settings aiming to develop supportive technologies tackling one or more of the barriers associated with adoption of next-generation beta cell replacement therapies and enable the scaling of islet cell therapies for expanded patient populations.
- Prioritization will be given to projects developing good manufacturing practice (GMP) compatible technologies with a clear plan toward implementation in current workflows.
- Examples of topics pertinent to this call include but are not limited to:
- Validation of novel differentiation processes resulting in shorter timelines to insulin producing cells.
- Development of innovative culture systems for scalable production capacity of pluripotent cell differentiation (e.g., automation)
- Cell culture processes and technologies that reduce the cost of goods for generating insulin-producing cells.
- Demonstration of cryoprotective storage solutions for manufactured islets that preserve cell viability and glucose responsive insulin secretion.
- Identification and validation of critical quality attributes at early stages of differentiation that can predict a successful manufactured run or the applicability of a given protocol to a new cell source.
Funding Information
- This initiative will award grants to academic investigators and industry partners of up to $600,000.00 over 2 years.
Funding Mechanisms
- In response to this announcement, Letters of Intent (LOI) can be submitted under the following mechanism(s):
- Strategic Research Agreements (SRAs)
- Strategic Research Agreements are intended for support of research activities at non-for-profit entities such as academic institutions.
- Industry Discovery and Development Partnerships (IDDPs)
- For-profit entities may apply under Breakthrough T1D’s Industry Discovery & Development Partnership (IDDP) funding mechanism, which entails additional requirements and typically has a modest royalty payback to Breakthrough T1D.
- Strategic Research Agreements (SRAs)
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign non-profit organization, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals and laboratories, units of state and local governments and eligible agencies of the federal government, for-profit entities, or industry collaborations with academia.
- Applicants must hold an M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., Ph.D., or equivalent and have a faculty position or equivalent at a college, university, medical school, or other research facility.
- Please note that applications from for-profit entities or industry collaborations with academia may be submitted in response to this RFA.
- Additional information will be requested from for-profit entities if invited to submit a full proposal.
- There are no citizenship requirements for this program.
- To assure continued excellence and diversity among applicants and awardees, Breakthrough T1D welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and encourages applications from persons with disabilities, women, and members of minority groups underrepresented in the sciences.
For more information, visit Breakthrough T1D.