Harrington Rare Disease Scholar Award

Harrington Rare Disease Scholar Award is sponsored by Harrington Discovery Institute (sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited). This US-based program provides a substantial grant, drug development expertise, project management support, and access to Takeda's R&D experts for physician-scientists and basic researchers working on rare diseases.

Drug Discovery and Developing Funding for Physician Scientists and Basic Research for Medicine | Harrington Rare Disease | Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals Sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , the Harrington Rare Disease Scholar Award is a US-based program that provides award recipients with a substantial grant, drug development expertise, project management support, access to Takeda’s R&D experts, and more.

The award includes: $150,000 guaranteed, opportunity to qualify for up to $1,000,000 Drug development expertise and project management support Facilitated access to Takeda research and development experts Dedicated pharma team provided for each scholar Business, commercialization and clinical development advice Intellectual property (IP) review and advice Access to contract search organizations/service providers The Harrington Discovery Institute and its Therapeutics Development Center work closely with the award recipient and their affiliated institution to maximize the clinical and commercial potential of the selected project.

MD or PhD (or equivalent) Faculty position at an accredited academic medical center, university or research institution in the US, and conduct the majority of his/her research activities at that institution A project must have a single PI, who is responsible for project oversight and financial management. The PI may engage collaborators, core labs or commercial CROs to execute any portion of the project.

Past recipients of Harrington awards may submit new and distinct proposals, but may not seek additional support for previously funded projects. Late submissions will not be accepted for any reason, other than issues with the Harrington Discovery Institute’s submission system. Proposals received after the deadline will not be reviewed.

The Harrington Rare Disease Scholar award selection committee seeks breakthrough discovery 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 Broad ALS Targets Show Signs of Success in Treating Genetic and Sporadic Forms Studies published from researchers at the biotech startup AcuraStem and the University of Southern California validated two potential drug targets in animal models of both genetic and sporadic ALS, paving the way for broad treatments.

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