Background
There are currently no FDA approved disease-modifying treatments available for frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and symptomatic treatments only provide limited benefit for patients. Recent scientific advances have provided an increased understanding of pathogenic mechanisms underlying FTD and are driving the development of potential disease-modifying therapies. The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) seek to accelerate this progress by supporting innovative small molecule and biologic (antibodies, oligonucleotides, peptides, gene therapy etc.) drug development programs for FTD through this request for proposals (RFP).
Funding Priorities
The RFP supports:
- Lead optimization of novel disease-modifying compounds, including medicinal chemistry refinement and in vitro ADME.
- In vivo testing of novel lead compounds, biologics, vaccines or repurposed drug candidates in relevant animal models for pharmacokinetics, dose-range finding, target engagement, in vivo efficacy, and/or preliminary rodent tolerability studies.
This RFP does NOT support target identification, target validation, assay development, high-throughput and high-content screening. IND-enabling work is supported through ADDF’s Drug Development RFP.
Deadlines
Must be received by 5:00 pm ET on the deadline date.
Letter of Intent: May 12th, 2025
Invited Full Proposal: July 21st, 2025
Average Duration
One year with potential for follow-on funding.
Average Award
$300,000-$350,000 based on stage and scope of research. Slightly higher budgets can be considered. Please contact us for review and approval.
Eligibility
Funding is open to researchers and clinicians in the U.S. and worldwide working in:
- Academic medical centers and universities or nonprofits. Industry partnerships are encouraged.
- Biotechnology companies that demonstrate a clear need for nonprofit funding. Existing companies and new spinouts are both eligible.
For more information, please see the opportunity website.