The Food and Drug Administration announced the publication of a Request for Applications for grants to support the development of new animal drugs intended for minor species or minor uses in major species. 

The grant program was established by the Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act of 2004, and funding was authorized to start after finalization of regulations to implement the Designation provisions of Section 573 of the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act.

Eligibility requirements to apply for a MUMS grant include: the drug must be ‘designated’ under the MUMS Act; the grant funding must be used to defray the costs of qualified safety and effectiveness testing expenses associated with the development of the drug for the designated intended use; and interested parties must have a study protocol that has been concurred upon/accepted by the Center for Veterinary Medicine prior to submitting the grant application.

Grants will be available for up to $75,000 per year for up to two years for routine studies; and up to $125,000 per year for up to two years for studies of unusual complexity, duration or size. A third year of funding may be available for long-term toxicology studies. Therefore, grants could range from under $75,000 for a routine study that could be completed in less than a year, to $250,000 for a complex study requiring two years for completion, to $375,000 for a long-term toxicology study.

The complete Request for Applications is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-FD-12-003.html and applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/) by February 17, 2012.