DOD Peer Reviewed Cancer, Clinical Trial Award

The Department of Defense (DoD) through its Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) is announcing the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) Clinical Trial Award (CTA), under funding opportunity number HT942525PRCRPCTA. The program is administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), specifically the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), with the overarching mission to support innovative and impactful cancer research that directly relates to military health and readiness. Since its inception in 2009, the PRCRP has received over $1.04 billion in congressional appropriations, with $130 million allocated for FY25. The primary objective of the FY25 PRCRP CTA is to fund clinical trials that address at least one of the FY25 PRCRP congressionally directed topic areas and associated strategic goals while demonstrating direct relevance to military health. The grant supports clinical trials ranging from phase 0 to phase III that aim to evaluate new drugs, biologics, devices, or other clinical interventions. Importantly, all funded projects must constitute a clinical trial, and animal studies or preclinical work are not allowed under this mechanism. Research must align with one of the defined PRCRP portfolios such as blood cancers, gastroenterological cancers, neurological cancers, pediatric and young adult cancers, solid tumors, or metastatic diseases, and must address specific strategic goals outlined for each. Eligibility is broad and includes both domestic and international applicants from public and private sectors, such as academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, government entities outside the DoD, and for-profit companies. Eligible Principal Investigators must be independent investigators at the Assistant Professor level or equivalent. Cost sharing or matching is not required, and awards will be made to organizations rather than individuals. The application process is two-phased. Interested applicants must first submit a pre-application via the eBRAP portal by June 20, 2025. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit full applications through either eBRAP (for intramural DoD organizations) or Grants.gov (for extramural organizations), with a final application deadline of September 25, 2025. Applications will undergo rigorous peer and programmatic reviews based on defined scientific and military relevance criteria. Peer review is scheduled for November 2025, followed by programmatic review in February 2026. Awards are expected to be made by September 30, 2026. Applications must comprehensively demonstrate project readiness, including regulatory compliance (e.g., submission of IND or IDE to the FDA if applicable), access to the study population, and appropriate personnel and facilities. Detailed components such as a project narrative, technical and lay abstracts, budget justification, recruitment and safety plan, and a post-award transition strategy are mandatory. A strong emphasis is placed on relevance to military health, including mission readiness, survivorship, and addressing military-related environmental exposures. For assistance, applicants can contact the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507 for technical guidance, and Grants.gov support at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726 for registration and submission issues. Full details, templates, and policy guidance are available in the General Application Instructions and on the CDMRP website.

Ensure early SAM.gov and eBRAP registrations. Clearly define cancer type, strategic goal, and military relevance. Include robust preclinical data and regulatory documentation if needed.