Kidney Precision Medicine Project - Technology Development and Validation (R41/R42) | PA 16 451

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 16 451

The Kidney Precision Medicine Project - Technology Development and Validation (R41/R42) funding opportunity (NIH FOA PA 16-451) is a discretionary NIH grant program designed specifically for small businesses that can build, refine, and validate technologies needed by the Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP). At its core, the FOA is trying to pull innovation from the small business sector into a large national effort focused on understanding kidney disease at a much more precise, tissue- and cell-resolved level than what is typically possible in routine clinical care.

KPMP itself is described as a major initiative that will collect and evaluate kidney biopsies from people with acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The long-term scientific goal is to use those biopsies to construct a detailed kidney tissue atlas, sort patients into more biologically meaningful disease subgroups, and pinpoint the specific cells, molecular pathways, and potential therapeutic targets that drive different forms of kidney injury and progression. The practical implication is that KPMP is not simply collecting samples; it is building an integrated reference map of kidney disease biology that could enable more accurate diagnoses, better prediction of outcomes, and new treatment strategies grounded in mechanism rather than broad clinical labels.

Within that context, the FOA emphasizes technology development that either makes kidney biopsy safer or increases the amount and quality of information that can be extracted from human kidney tissue once it is obtained. In other words, proposed tools should help ensure that a biopsy yields high-value research or clinically relevant data. The announcement is oriented toward technologies that strengthen the pipeline from biopsy collection through tissue handling and interrogation, recognizing that kidney biopsies are precious, limited samples and that both patient safety and sample quality are central to KPMP success.

The grant mechanism referenced (R41/R42) indicates an SBIR phased approach, where Phase I (R41) is generally aimed at establishing feasibility and demonstrating early proof-of-concept, and Phase II (R42) supports further development and validation toward a more complete, deployable solution. The program is therefore well-suited to companies that can credibly move from a prototype or early technical concept into a validated technology that can be used in KPMP-style workflows and, potentially, in broader clinical or translational settings.

Eligibility is limited to small businesses. The FOA makes clear that non-U.S. (foreign) institutions are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, it notes that foreign components, as defined under the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowed in certain circumstances, which typically means some discrete portion of the work could occur outside the United States if it is well-justified and consistent with NIH policy, even though the applicant organization itself must be domestic and eligible.

Administratively, the opportunity is issued by the National Institutes of Health, is categorized under health-related funding activity (CFDA 93.847), and was originally created on 2016-09-28 with an original closing date listed as 2020-01-05. The source summary does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, so prospective applicants would normally need to consult the full FOA text or NIH SBIR guidance for budget structure, phase limits, and application details. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as NIH using the SBIR program to accelerate practical, validated technologies that make human kidney biopsy-based precision medicine safer, more informative, and more scalable for AKI and CKD research and, ultimately, patient care.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Kidney Precision Medicine Project - Technology Development and Validation (R41/R42)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-09-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-01-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for PA 16 451

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: