201801 Chemical Screening and Optimization Facility

Program seeks Council approval for soliciting and supporting a Chemical Screening and Optimization Facility.

There is a tremendous need for alternative modes of contraception for men and women, and this initiative supports the paradigm shift towards the development of more specific contraceptive modalities that do not act via classical steroidal mechanisms. 

The objective of the Chemical Screening and Optimization Facility is to support meritorious investigators with the needed research capabilities and expertise to identify and optimize novel contraceptive agents for further development. The facility will provide expertise and utilize modeling and structure biology with iterative chemical synthesis and biological testing to design highly specific and potent contraceptive agents to further investigator research in contraception development.  The goal for this facility is to serve as a central resource for the NICHD to provide a cost-effective drug development mechanism capability that is beyond the scope and resources of the grantees.

The NICHD remains the only funder of early stage contraceptive research throughout the world, and continued funding in this area is of paramount importance for the field.

This proposed concept aligns with Branch Priorities and the NICHD Visioning mandate to “identify novel molecular targets to develop new contraceptive methods.”

Program Contact

Daniel Johnston
Contraception Research Branch

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