NIH Launches Competition to Boost Neuromodulation Therapies

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently launched the first phase of Neuromod Prize, a $9.8 million competition to accelerate the development of neuromodulation therapies.

Neuromodulation therapies are targeted treatments that adjust nerve activity to improve organ function. The initiative will tap scientists, engineers, and clinicians to submit novel concepts and clinical development plans to treat disease and improve human health.

The Neuromod Prize is part of the Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) program from the NIH Common Fund.

SPARC has made significant progress evaluating neuromodulation as a therapeutic approach, closing fundamental knowledge gaps, and offering tools to enable open science and innovation, an NIH spokesperson said.

NIH will work to bridge the gap between early-stage research and clinical use for solutions capable of independently targeting multiple functions involving the body's internal organs.

The first phase of the competition will award up to $800,000, the second phase will award up to $4 million, and the third phase will award up to $5 million.

Phase 1 participants will submit concept papers describing their proposed therapeutic approaches and their plans for conducting proof-of-concept studies, rationales for therapeutic, and expectations for clinical impact.

Phase 1 quarterfinalists will be invited to participate in the second phase, anticipated to occur in 2022. The winning ideas will be translated into preclinical studies.

"Through the Neuromod Prize, we're asking potential solvers to use the foundational knowledge and technologies that have come out of our SPARC program and take it to the next level with their innovative concepts and ideas," ​​James M. Anderson, MD, PhD, director of the division of program coordination, planning, and strategic initiatives, said in the announcement.

"This competition is an exciting opportunity to come up with tangible plans for harnessing the power of the body's electrical system to help transform treatments for millions of people living with chronic or acute illnesses," Anderson continued.

Neuromodulation therapies have the potential to treat a variety of health conditions, from gastrointestinal disorders to heart failure, through target regulation of the nerves that connect with all parts of the body.

Currently, researchers are identifying novel neuromodulation approaches to target multiple organs and functions.