Grant Opportunity
This scholar program supports innovative research efforts that could prevent, treat or cure blindness resulting from inherited retinal degenerative diseases. Each year up to 3 Gund Harrington Scholars are chosen. The award includes:
- Three-year grant
- Milestone-driven payments totaling up to $900,000 over three years
- Drug development expertise and project management support
- Business, commercialization and clinical development advice
- Regulatory assistance
- Intellectual property (IP) review and advice
- Assistance identifying and securing additional financial support based on project needs
Discoveries Sought
The Gund Harrington Scholar Award selection committee seeks breakthrough discoveries defined by innovation, creativity and potential for clinical impact, including:
- Discoveries deemed to address unmet medical needs
- Modulators of novel targets
- Potential to be developed into a commercial program
- Possess strong intellectual property (IP) or protection strategy
- May be either a small molecule, biologic, or other therapeutic modality
- Diagnostics or devices only acceptable as part of a therapeutic development project or if completely transformative
- Treatment strategies that are not gene specific, but might be broadly applicable across many patients
- Therapies that may be effective in later stages of disease
- Gene modifying or gene therapy strategies
- Therapies that address juvenile macular degeneration
- Regenerative medicine therapies that focus on stem cells differentiated into photoreceptor cells
- Innovative science potentially leading to treatment or prevention of inherited retinal degenerative disease
