NCATS ASPIRE REDUCTION-TO-PRACTICE CHALLENGE

Investigators

Abstract

NCATS has recently established the development of A Specialized Platform for Innovative Research Exploration (ASPIRE) to aid in the discovery and development of novel and effective treatments, while at the same time making the process faster and more cost-effective, with a particular focus on pain, OUD and overdose as part of the the Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM Initiative, or NIH HEAL InitiativeSM. The NCATS ASPIRE Program aims to develop and integrate automated synthetic chemistry, biological screening and artificial intelligence approaches in order to significantly advance our understanding of the relationship between chemical and biological space and enable further access into biologically-relevant chemical space. The ASPIRE platform will utilize currently available knowledge to develop innovative algorithms and predict and synthesize novel structures capable of interacting with specific targets; enable small-scale synthesis of the predicted molecules; and incorporate in-line, rapid biological testing of the molecules. Any new data obtained through this process would then be fed back into the system to further improve design, synthesis and biological characteristics of molecules. Over 25 million people in the United States experience pain every day (2012 National Health Interview Survey data(link is external)) and need safe, addiction-free treatments to alleviate their suffering. This clinical demand is of tremendous importance given that overprescribing of opioids for managing acute and chronic pain has fueled the current epidemic of opioid use disorder and overdose deaths, and the effectiveness of opioids for long-term pain management is being questioned. Safe, effective, and non-addictive drugs (small molecules and biologics) to treat pain, mitigate addiction and reverse overdose are key to addressing the opioid crisis. Given failures and limitations of previous drug development efforts, drugs that recognize novel targets, have novel structures, and can be identified in human-based, physiologically relevant in vitro systems are needed. To further advance the NCATS ASPIRE Program and build on the innovations of the ASPIRE Design Challenges, and reward and spur innovative solutions to the development of new drugs for pain, addiction, and overdose, NCATS is issuing this Reduction-to-Practice Challenge to highly collaborative innovators interested in developing working prototypes of novel approaches that would lead to efficacious and non-addictive pain treatments and/or novel treatments for addiction and overdose. The ultimate goal of the NCATS ASPIRE Program under the HEAL Initiative is the development of a platform that a wide spectrum of scientists can use to advance their translational science relevant to development and pre-clinical testing of new and safer treatments of pain, OUD, and overdose. Further, it is essential that the approach developed in this phase is applicable to any translational problem.