Sanofi Biomedical Innovation Award Program Announces Request for Proposals

• Nanotechnology proposals for detection and monitoring of disease, and targeted and/or controlled drug delivery of small molecules, biologics or siRNA. Proposals that specifically explore the nanotoxicology and nanopharmacology associated with these approaches are especially appreciated.
• Research supporting new biomaterials for biosurgery for applications in osteoarthritis relief, adhesion prevention, cartilage repair, and severe burn treatment.
• Solutions to healthcare issues related to aging, including translational research toward rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
• Innovative approaches to improving compliance or ease of use of existing medicines (e.g. extended drug release strategies).
• Strategies that enable the treatment of rare diseases.
• Applied network biology approaches (e.g. systems biology, computational biology) that allow a better understanding of the biology of disease, identification of important signaling pathways or nodes that improve target identification.
• Strategies to enable the oral delivery of biotherapeutics
• Innovative devices for improving patient healthcare.

Proposals should be developed with a goal toward application in the following areas: diabetes, cancer, inflammation, fibrosis and wound repair, biosurgery, infectious diseases, rare diseases, diseases of the eye and ear, aging-related diseases (RA, MS, AD), and vaccines.

Highly innovative applications in other areas will be considered.

Joint proposals with other institutions that facilitate these goals will be appreciated provided that the Lead Investigator on the application is from MIT.

The funds available will provide MIT researchers with financial support to enable innovative research projects in furtherance of the objectives of a Strategic Alliance that sanofi and MIT entered into on May 5th, 2010. It is anticipated that awards will be between $100,000-$150,000/year with periods of performance of up to two years. It is estimated that between five and eight awards will be made this year.
 

KEY DATES

September 6th, 2011 – BIFA application deadline
September 30th, 2011 – Review/selection of proposals by MIT/sanofi Joint Scientific Steering Committee
December 1st , 2011 – Earliest start date for BIFA project
 

ELIGIBILITY AND RESTRICTIONS

The Sanofi Biomedical Innovation Award (saBIP) Program is open to MIT faculty or members of the research staff with principal investigator privileges. No PI may submit more than one proposal to this RFP.

Please contact Dr. Stacy Springs at ssprings@mit.edu or 617.253.3084 with any questions.
 

DOWNLOADS

Cover page and Proposal instructions (.doc file)
Request for proposals including Eligibility & Restrictions, Application Process, and Conditions (.pdf file)
Budget form (.xls file)