HEAL Initiative: Studies to Enable Analgesic Discovery (R61/R33 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Last verified by NonDilute: 2026-04-29. Official notice and agency instructions control.
Up to $350K to advance early-stage pain drug discovery without addiction liability—ideal if you have a promising assay, screening platform, or lead compound.
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What this is
This NIH HEAL Initiative grant supports translational research aimed at discovering novel pain treatments without addiction risk. Funding covers assay development, high-throughput screening, and early characterization of small molecules, biologics, and natural products as potential therapeutics. Projects are positioned as stepping stones toward the NIH's Pain Therapeutics Development Program. Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed; this is pre-clinical and early translational work.
Who can apply
Eligible organizations include for-profit and non-profit entities, small businesses, universities, government agencies, Native American tribal organizations, and independent researchers. Broad eligibility; confirm specific org type in detailed text. U.S. institutions strongly preferred (NIH standard).
Eligible applicant types
- City or township governments
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- County governments
- Independent school districts
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- State governments
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Small businesses
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
- Private institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Special district governments
Full description — from the agency
This funding opportunity is part of a suite of NOFOs within the NIH HEAL Initiative to support the development of safe, effective, and non-addictive therapeutics to treat pain. The goal is to encourage initial translational efforts that will support a drug discovery program and advance projects to the point where they meet the entry criteria for the Pain Therapeutics Development Program. The scope will therefore be focused on development of assays to support a distinct testing funnel, screening efforts to identify hits, and initial characterization of hits and potential therapeutic agents (including small molecules, biologics, and natural products).
Topics: pain drug discovery · non-addictive therapeutics · assay development · high-throughput screening · hit characterization · translational research · NIH HEAL initiative
Public-source funding discovery only. This summary is generated from public agency data and may be incomplete or stale. NonDilute is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government agency. Official notices and agency instructions control. NonDilute does not determine eligibility, provide grant-writing advice, or guarantee funding.