NExT Application Process

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The NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) pipeline is designed to assist translation to the clinic of novel therapeutic interventions, either synthetic, natural product, or biologic, arising from academic, private, or government entities with a majority US backed holding. 

IMPORTANT NEW REQUIREMENT: Companies with foreign collaborations will need to provide an adequate justification as described in NOT-OD-25-098: Application Requirements for Projects Involving Activities Outside of the United States or Partnerships with International Collaborators.  This NOT must be read and fully addressed, including any forms within, which are to be submitted as part of the application through ProposalCentral.

A panel of experts evaluates applications based on criteria that include scientific merit, feasibility, alignment with NCI mission, novelty, and clinical need. The NExT Program will send notification letters informing applicants of the review outcomes, approximately six (6) months after the submission deadline.

Applicants requesting early-to-late discovery resources should be aware that such activities are done via the NCI’s Chemical Biology Consortium (CBC). NExT Discovery applications that advance into official NExT Discovery projects will be invited to join the CBC, and are expected to become signatories to the CBC Participants Agreement. If submitting a Discovery NExT Program application, it is expected that applicants have read and understood the referenced agreement and to have shared the agreement with the applicant’s institution or company’s Technology Transfer Office to ensure that the organization is willing to accept the terms and conditions of this non-negotiable agreement.

Currently application submissions are occurring on an ad hoc basis.  The next application cycle will open on July 15th and close one month later on August 15th at 5pm ET.

Application cycles will open and close regardless of whether the date falls on a holiday or weekend.

Please note that the application deadlines are 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing dates. Late submissions cannot be accepted for any reason. Applicants are strongly encouraged to finalize submission of their proposals ahead of the deadline date.

All proposals are submitted online using the proposalCENTRAL site. Please note that the principal investigator (the applicant) is responsible for final submission.

Before Applying

Please consider the following:

1. For Drug Discovery concepts, please consider booking a 30-minute consultation with the NExT staff to review the concept and discuss the application process.  The NCI consultation is another resource for prospective applicants to help ensure that your concept is feasible and aligned with the NExT Program capabilities.
2. Applicants seeking Drug Development support should submitted a request to the Drug Development Consult group using the following link NCI Drug Development Consultation.  A post-consultation follow-up appointment with the NExT staff is also encouraged to ensure prospective applicants understand the application process, requirements, and deadlines.
3. For Applicants seeking a CTEP collaboration (i.e., NExT Clinical Application), please contact the NCI NExT Office (NCINExTInfo@mail.nih.gov) for a pre-meeting assessment and referral to the CTEP medical officer group.

Ready to Apply?

Please visit the Application Instructions site and download the NExT Application Quick Guide (PDF) and Detailed Tutorial for submitting a NExT Application in ProposalCentral.