The Department of Defense (DoD), through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity and managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), is offering the FY25 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program (ALSRP) Therapeutic Idea Award. This award supports new, innovative, high-risk, high-gain ideas with the potential to lead to breakthroughs in drug or therapy development for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The program aims to fund hypothesis-driven projects that can produce preliminary data for future therapeutic research, with a focus on novel, transformative, and potentially paradigm-shifting approaches rather than incremental advancements.

The ALSRP was initiated by Congress in 2007 to fund high-impact research. As of fiscal year 2024, total appropriations have reached $269.4 million, with $40 million appropriated for FY25. Approximately $10.8 million from the FY25 budget is designated for this specific Therapeutic Idea Award opportunity. The CDMRP anticipates making around 11 awards, each with a direct cost cap of $600,000 over a maximum two-year performance period. Awards will be made no later than September 30, 2026, with funds set to expire for use by September 30, 2031.

Eligible applicants include both extramural and intramural organizations, encompassing domestic and international entities, public or private institutions, academic institutions, nonprofits, biotechnology companies, federal entities other than the DoD, and other research organizations. Principal Investigators (PIs) at any career stage are welcome, provided they are designated as independent investigators by their institutions. There are no restrictions based on nationality or citizenship.

The application process involves two steps. A pre-application must be submitted through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) by June 6, 2025. Selected applicants will be invited to submit full applications, which are due via Grants.gov or eBRAP by August 27, 2025. Applicants will be notified of invitations on July 10, 2025. Peer review will occur in October, followed by programmatic review in December 2025. Applications are assessed based on innovation, impact, research strategy, biomarker integration, and feasibility, among other criteria.

Applications must include both technical and lay abstracts, a detailed project narrative, a biomarker development plan, and documentation such as biosketches, letters of support, and resource sharing strategies. A key requirement is the inclusion of biomarker development aligned with therapeutic hypotheses to evaluate the biological effects of interventions. Projects must adhere to rigorous standards for preclinical research, particularly for studies involving animal models.

Contact for assistance includes the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507 for questions related to application submissions, and the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726 for registration and technical support. All applicants must be registered and active in SAM.gov.