Advancing Group A Streptococcus Vaccine Discovery (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AI 21 070

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AI 21 070

Advancing Group A Streptococcus Vaccine Discovery (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed), funding opportunity number RFA-AI-21-070, is an NIH discretionary research grant intended to accelerate the early-stage pipeline for new vaccines against Group A Streptococcus (GAS). GAS is responsible for a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from common infections like strep throat and impetigo to severe invasive disease, and it can also contribute to major post-infectious complications. This FOA is focused on moving beyond incremental improvements by supporting the discovery and rational design of novel vaccine candidates and then pushing the most promising concepts into preclinical evaluation, with the overarching goal of achieving broad protection against GAS infections across diverse strains and settings.

The scientific scope emphasizes vaccine discovery and design work that results in tangible candidate concepts suitable for preclinical testing. In practice, this typically includes activities like identifying and prioritizing protective antigens, engineering immunogens, developing or optimizing vaccine constructs, and generating the kinds of early evidence needed to justify further development. The FOA explicitly targets advancement into preclinical evaluation, meaning applicants should be prepared to propose studies that begin to assess candidate performance in relevant laboratory and animal-based systems, such as initial immunogenicity and proof-of-concept protection studies, along with other foundational preclinical work that helps de-risk progression to later-stage development.

The mechanism is an R01 research project grant, and the "Clinical Trial Not Allowed" designation is important: the supported work must remain preclinical and cannot include human clinical trials. Applicants should frame their aims accordingly, keeping the project within discovery, design, and preclinical evaluation boundaries rather than proposing interventions in human participants. The funding activity category is Health and the associated CFDA number is 93.855, consistent with NIH infectious disease research programs.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations and several categories of non-U.S. participants. Eligible applicants listed for this opportunity include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility is designed to pull in strong teams wherever the best vaccine discovery capabilities exist, including institutions serving underrepresented communities and organizations outside the United States.

Key administrative details from the source data include that NIH is the sponsoring agency, the FOA was created on 2021-10-15, and the original closing date was 2022-02-18. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided fields, so those specifics would normally be confirmed in the full FOA text or associated NIH funding announcement pages.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at researchers and organizations with ideas and platforms that can generate new GAS vaccine candidates and provide rigorous preclinical evidence to support broad, strain-spanning protection, while staying clearly on the non-clinical side of the development pathway under an R01 grant structure.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advancing Group A Streptococcus Vaccine Discovery (R01 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): 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-10-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-02-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA AI 21 070

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