This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is for Research Teams to form the NCI Pediatric in Vivo Testing Program (henceforth termed the Ped-InVivo-TP). The Research Teams of the Ped-InVivo-TP will determine the activity of pediatric anticancer drug candidates using preclinical models relevant to the cancer(s) on which their team focuses (supported under this FOA) and will work in concert with the Ped-InVivo-TP Coordinating Center (supported under RFA-CA-20-041). The Research Teams will use genomically characterized pediatric cancer models to develop a rigorous preclinical testing program that will generate reliable data that can be used to inform new agent prioritization decisions for childhood cancer clinical testing. The Ped-InVivo-TP is envisioned as a way for NCI to support the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH)-organized Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for pediatric preclinical testing. The PPP is being developed to accelerate the pace and to broaden the scope of pediatric preclinical testing of agents being developed for adult cancer indications. Pharmaceutical companies and representatives of regulatory agencies will also participate in the PPP. The Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) [PD(s)/PI(s)] of the Ped-InVivo-TP Research Teams and Coordinating Center will be expected to serve on the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the FNIH PPP and will contribute to the SAC with regards to the research opportunities in their areas of expertise. This FOA invites applications from Research Teams that have developed panels of genomically characterized pediatric cancer models and that have the capacity for using their panels to test up to 8-10 agents per year. The Ped-InVivo-TP Awardees will work closely with the Ped-In Vivo-TP Coordinating Center in the testing of agents and in the analysis and reporting of testing results.
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