The TRND program seeks to collaborate with academic, nonprofit, industry and other government researchers from within and outside the United States. By collaborating with TRND, partners with promising new therapeutic candidates benefit from the significant rare and neglected disease preclinical development expertise of TRND scientists. No funds are awarded through TRND. In general, the program leverages internal resources and preclinical and regulatory expertise to support the development of promising, well-validated therapeutic candidates from as early as lead compound optimization through submission of an Investigational New Drug application to the Food and Drug Administration.
Interested investigators undergo initial pre-screening to assess overall fit for the TRND program prior to submitting a formal proposal. Full proposals are rigorously assessed by TRND staff, with additional input from staff in other NIH Institutes and Centers and from external drug development experts. When a collaboration is initiated, TRND forms a project team and a project plan is developed, including a timeline, milestones, deliverables and “go/no-go” decision points.
Learn more about working with TRND:
- How to Request a Collaboration: Overview of general proposal process and detailed instructions for interested investigators
- Considerations for Collaborators: Minimal data requirements and scope limitations
- Intellectual Property: How TRND handles background versus new intellectual property created during the project
- Project Implementation and Conduct: Project management, oversight and governance
- Updates to Prior Proposals: How to amend a prior proposal and what needs to be achieved in the interim