Limited Competition: Growing Great Ideas: Research Education Course in Entrepreneurship and Product Development for Researchers Studying Drug Use, Drug Misuse, and Drug Addiction (UE5 Clinical Trial N
🏛 National Institutes of Health (HHS-NIH11)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 16, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for institutions seeking to establish an entrepreneurship training program focused on substance use disorder (SUD) research and biomedical product development. Eligible applicants are domestic organizations with demonstrated ability and passion to teach entrepreneurship to drug addiction researchers. The program targets academic researchers and innovators in the SUD field who wish to translate their discoveries into commercial products. The curriculum must be delivered in hybrid format with in-person components required.
Applicants must propose a customized, SUD-centric entrepreneurship curriculum. They must also outline a recruitment and outreach strategy to attract US-based SUD researchers and innovators. The program should prepare researchers to evaluate market opportunities, understand regulatory pathways, and identify funding sources like SBIR/STTR.
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Key dates
- Jun 23, 2026 Applications open
- Oct 1, 2026 Application deadline in 76 days
- Jul 1, 2027 Award announced
- Jul 1, 2027 Project start
Program description
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks to advance its mission by establishing a well-recognized entrepreneurship teaching program with the demonstrated ability and passion to adapt, develop, and deliver a customized, substance use disorder (SUD)-centric curriculum in entrepreneurship and biomedical product development, targeting domestic innovators in the field of SUD research. With the appropriate training and guidance for the drug addiction science workforce, academic researchers will be better equipped with the skills to translate their discoveries into products, thus facilitating groundbreaking solutions generated in academic research to reach the populations they intend to help. The course will focus on early-stage innovation endeavors in preparing drug addiction researchers to recognize the potential of their research ideas and critically assess them for viable product development opportunities; utilize business ideation tools to evaluate the market and understand paths to commercialization; perform customer discovery; establish intellectual property protections; develop approaches to regulatory considerations; understand the reimbursement landscape; source capital, such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding; and generate revenue.
Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop a grant application to include both a proposed curriculum to be delivered in a hybrid format, in which a portion of the course must be offered for in-person attendance, and outreach strategy outlining the plans to recruit US-based SUD researchers and innovators to take part in the course. Grant authorities that allow NIDA to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Section 301 (42 U.S.C. § 241) and Section 405 (42 U.S.C. § 284).
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- Proposed curriculum with hybrid delivery plan
- Outreach and recruitment strategy for SUD researchers
- Organizational capacity and track record documentation
- Letters of support or partnerships (recommended)
- Budget and budget narrative
Program contact
- 👤 Jessica Lukacs, MD, MBA
- 📧 jess.lukacs@nih.gov
- 📞 301-435-5916
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.279 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$204,359,786
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$128,078,833
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$126,585,435
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$99,478,296
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$79,333,238
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$78,351,755
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$74,806,844
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$71,588,047
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$61,578,651
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$50,952,037
Top States by Funding
- NY 4 awards $260.8M
- WA 1 awards $204.4M
- CT 2 awards $155.8M
- CA 4 awards $141.1M
- MD 2 awards $128.2M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.279). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $1,245,503,136 | |
| 2025 | $1,343,517,098 | |
| 2026 est. | $20,194,375 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Domestic institutions with demonstrated ability to teach entrepreneurship to researchers in substance use disorder and biomedical product development fields. Organizations must have passion and capacity to deliver a customized SUD-focused curriculum.
What is the deadline and timeline?
The application deadline is October 1, 2026. This is a fixed deadline with advance notice to allow applicants time to develop competitive proposals.
What must the curriculum cover?
The course must teach early-stage innovation, market evaluation, customer discovery, intellectual property, regulatory considerations, reimbursement landscape, capital sourcing (SBIR/STTR), and revenue generation for SUD researchers.
What format is required for program delivery?
The program must be delivered in hybrid format with a mandatory in-person component. Applicants must specify which portions occur in-person versus online.
What else do I need to propose?
Submit a detailed curriculum outline and a comprehensive outreach strategy showing how you will recruit and attract US-based SUD researchers and innovators to participate in the course.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Emphasize your organization's track record of successful entrepreneurship education and research community engagement. Demonstrate passion for translating SUD research into products.
- Design your curriculum with input from active SUD researchers and innovators. Show that your program directly addresses their real business development challenges.
- Detail your recruitment strategy with concrete plans to reach drug addiction researchers across US institutions. Include partnerships with academic centers and research networks.
- Plan your hybrid delivery carefully. Explain why specific components require in-person attendance and how you'll support remote participation for other portions.
- Align your program with NIDA's mission to advance drug addiction science. Show how entrepreneurship training helps researchers develop solutions that reach populations in need.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposing a generic entrepreneurship curriculum without clear SUD-specific focus. Applications lack connection to substance use disorder research or fail to demonstrate how training translates to SUD-related product development.
Underestimating the hybrid format requirement or proposing mostly online delivery without strong justification. Not identifying which course components must occur in-person.
Providing vague recruitment plans that don't target SUD researchers specifically. Weak outreach strategy with no evidence of partnerships with academic medical centers, research institutes, or drug addiction research networks.
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