DOD, Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, Clinical Trial Award | W81XWH 22 SCIRP CTA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 22 SCIRP CTA

The Department of Defense Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) Clinical Trial Award (CTA) is a funding opportunity designed to move spinal cord injury (SCI) research into human testing quickly, with a clear emphasis on real-world impact. The core purpose is to support clinical trials that could meaningfully improve how SCI is treated or managed, whether that means better functional outcomes, improved health and quality of life, fewer complications, or more effective long-term care. A strong application is expected to explain not only what will be tested, but also why the results could matter in both the near term and the longer term for people living with SCI and for their care-partners.

This award is centered on running clinical trials, and it is broad in the kinds of interventions it will consider as long as they align with one or more of the FY22 SCIRP Focus Areas. Supported trials can evaluate new or promising products, pharmacologic agents such as drugs or biologics, medical devices, clinical guidance or care practices, and emerging approaches or technologies. In other words, the program is open to a wide range of clinical-stage ideas, but it is not meant for purely exploratory basic science; it is meant for studies where people will actually be enrolled and an intervention will be tested in a structured way. The intent is rapid implementation, so proposals should read like they are ready to execute, with a clear plan for recruitment, endpoints, and operational feasibility.

The SCIRP CTA allows flexibility in trial scale and maturity. Projects can range from small proof-of-concept efforts, including pilot studies, first-in-human work, or phase 0 trials, when the goal is to demonstrate feasibility, establish early safety signals, or generate data needed to design a larger pivotal study. At the other end of the spectrum, the program also supports larger trials designed to determine efficacy in relevant SCI populations. While randomized clinical trials are common, the announcement explicitly allows alternative trial designs as long as the design fits the scientific and clinical objective. That means applicants can propose nontraditional approaches when randomization is impractical or when another design better answers the question, but they still need to justify the approach and show it will produce interpretable evidence.

Administratively, the opportunity is run by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). The funding opportunity number is W81XWH 22 SCIRP CTA, and it falls under CFDA 12.420 (research and development). The funding instrument type listed includes both grants and cooperative agreements, which typically signals that some awards may involve more substantial government involvement or coordination during the project period, depending on how the award is structured. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of applicant organizations can apply, subject to any clarifications that might appear in the full eligibility text. The posting date is March 28, 2022, with an original closing date of September 2, 2022. The agency expected to make about four awards under this announcement, and the listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which usually indicates that a specific maximum was not provided in the summary field and would need to be confirmed in the full announcement or program guidelines.

Overall, this grant mechanism is best understood as a push to translate SCI innovations into clinical evidence, with priority on interventions that could plausibly change clinical practice or care pathways for people living with SCI. Competitive proposals would typically make a strong case for significance and impact, align clearly to the program focus areas, present a credible and well-justified trial design, and demonstrate readiness to carry out the study efficiently while producing outcomes that matter to individuals with SCI and their care networks.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DOD, Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, Clinical Trial Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 28, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 02, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for W81XWH 22 SCIRP CTA

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