National Cooperative Drug/Device Discovery/Development Groups (NCDDG) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders (U19 Clinical Trial Optional)
🏛 National Institutes of Health (HHS-NIH11)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 15, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for collaborative research groups seeking to accelerate drug and device discovery and development for mental health disorders through structured, team-based approaches. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, research organizations, and other organizations with research capacity who can form multi-institutional consortia. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds this program nationally. Activities supported include collaborative basic, translational, and clinical research focused on identifying, developing, and testing new therapeutics and medical devices for mental disorders, with optional inclusion of clinical trial components. Research must address unmet needs in mental health treatment and demonstrate strong institutional commitment and collaborative infrastructure.
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Program description
Reissue of PAR-20-119. This FOA encourages applications to advance the discovery, preclinical development, and proof of concept (PoC) testing of new, rationally based candidate agents and neurostimulation approaches to treat mental disorders, substance use disorders (SUDs) or alcohol use disorder (AUD), and to develop novel ligands and circuit-engagement devices as tools to further characterize existing or to validate new drug/device targets. Partnerships between academia and industry are strongly encouraged. This FOA supports a research program of multiple projects directed toward a specific major objective, basic theme or program goal, requiring a broadly based, multidisciplinary and often long-term approach. Projects seeking support for a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies should consider the companion U01 FOA.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- SF-424 (R&R) form and associated NIH-specific forms (PHS 398 or equivalent)
- Project narrative (research strategy section)
- Detailed budget and budget narrative for full project period
- Biosketches for all key personnel and collaborators
- Letters of institutional support from all participating organizations
- Consortium/collaboration agreement detailing governance and resource-sharing
- Preliminary data and feasibility documentation
- Clinical trial protocol (if clinical trials are included)
- NIH biographical sketches and institutional commitment letters
Program contact
- 👤 National Institutes of Health
- 📧 grantsinfo@nih.gov
- 📞 301-402-2541
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.242 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$78,262,050
-
$75,056,208
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$74,756,329
-
$64,705,159
-
$63,991,707
-
$54,214,022
-
$48,653,752
-
$38,895,082
-
$38,475,557
-
$35,940,675
Top States by Funding
- CA 15 awards $408.1M
- MA 9 awards $230.5M
- NY 6 awards $184.2M
- CT 4 awards $183.5M
- WA 4 awards $174.9M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.242). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $1,722,300,004 | |
| 2025 | $1,726,864,191 | |
| 2026 est. | $99,221,272 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Organizations with strong research capacity, including universities, research institutes, and nonprofit research organizations. Applicants must form multi-institutional collaborative groups and demonstrate NIH institutional support and research infrastructure.
What is the application deadline?
The deadline is October 25, 2027, with applications opening January 15, 2025. This is a fixed deadline; applications must be submitted by the specified date.
What types of research activities are supported?
The grant supports basic, translational, and clinical research aimed at discovering and developing new drugs and medical devices for mental health disorders. Clinical trials are optional but allowed under this mechanism.
How competitive is this funding?
U19 grants are highly competitive. Successful applications typically demonstrate innovative approaches, strong collaborative teams, preliminary data, and clear pathways to clinical translation. Budget and scoring expectations are typically higher than smaller grant mechanisms.
What is the typical funding range?
U19 grants are typically substantial awards (generally $200,000-$500,000+ annually depending on scope), but applicants should consult the NIH Notice of Funding Opportunity for current budget guidelines and caps.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Emphasize the collaborative team structure and complementary expertise across institutions; U19s require strong justification for why consortium approach is necessary to achieve research goals that single institutions cannot accomplish alone.
- Include robust preliminary data demonstrating feasibility and innovation in your drug/device discovery or development strategy; committees want confidence in your team's ability to achieve stated milestones.
- Clearly articulate the unmet clinical need for your target mental health disorder and explain how your therapeutics or devices address gaps in existing treatments.
- Build in clear go/no-go decision points and milestones with defined timelines; U19 grants expect structured project management and accountability across the collaborative group.
- If including clinical trials, provide detailed planning for regulatory interactions, patient recruitment, and clinical site readiness; this significantly strengthens competitiveness but requires careful methodology.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications often fail because they lack convincing evidence that collaboration across multiple institutions is essential—reviewers want to see how each team member brings irreplaceable expertise. Another common issue is insufficient preliminary data or overly ambitious scope relative to timeline; competitive applications demonstrate clear feasibility with realistic milestones. Weak justification for why the proposed therapeutic or device represents genuine innovation in treating the mental disorder also undermines competitiveness.
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- CLOSED NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (NIMH BRAINS) (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health