Latest news with #FNIH
Business Wire
24-07-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
FNIH Program Will Advance Alternative Research Models
NORTH BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is managing a new program to advance innovative laboratory technologies that model human biology, enabling faster, less expensive testing. 'These innovative approaches ... will support more cost-effective and human-relevant results, compared to traditional models.'— Stacey Adam, PhD Share A public-private partnership launched by the FNIH – in collaboration with the NIH – will accelerate the implementation of this technology. Examples include organ-on-a-chip platforms, AI models, and cell lines. These efforts are expected to reduce the reliance on animals in the laboratory. 'These innovative approaches will advance safety testing, accelerate drug development, and enhance disease modeling,' said Stacey Adam, PhD, FNIH Vice President of Science Partnerships. 'Ultimately, this will support more cost-effective and human-relevant results, compared to traditional models.' To date, more than 40 government, life science, nonprofit, and regulatory organizations have joined the partnership, called the Validation and Qualification Network (VQN). The FNIH continues to recruit partners. (Learn more at The VQN will develop individual projects to help streamline regulatory approvals for therapies and compounds that are eventually tested using these new technologies, which are known collectively as New Approach Methodologies, or NAMs. These projects will include activities such as the establishment of common data elements and standardized results reporting. 'The Validation and Qualification Network will play a key role in advancing the use and broader regulatory acceptance of human-centered research models,' said Nicole Kleinstreuer, PhD, Acting NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives. 'This work will address key challenges in NAMs adoption and implementation.' NAMs have the potential to transform the way scientific research is conducted. These new approaches include computer models that simulate how a substance would act in the body, and cell-based tools that replicate human biology. The VQN is part of the NIH Complement Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) program, which aims to complement, and in some cases replace, traditional animal testing with alternative research methods that model human biology. The Complement-ARIE NAMs VQN is expected to lead to several additional projects to advance the development, standardization, validation, and use of human-based research technologies. Funded by Award No. OT2OD039875 from NIH. Twenty-nine private partners have also provided funding. Learn more at About the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) builds public-private partnerships that connect leading biomedical scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with their counterparts in life sciences companies, academia, patient organizations, foundations, and regulatory agencies (including the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency). Through team science, the FNIH solves complex health challenges and accelerates breakthroughs for patients, regardless of who they are or what health threats they face. The FNIH contributes to the development of new therapies, diagnostics, and potential cures; advances global health; and helps train the next generations of scientists. Established by Congress in 1990 to support the mission of the NIH, the FNIH is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information about the FNIH, please visit Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
Business Wire
09-07-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
The FNIH Names Recipients of the 2025 Charles A. Sanders, MD, Partnership Award
NORTH BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) will award the 2025 Charles A. Sanders, MD, Partnership Award to the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc./Alexandria Venture Investments and the Goldenberg Family Foundation. The Partnership Award recognizes persons or organizations that have made significant contributions to the FNIH's work in support of the mission of the NIH. "We are deeply grateful for their generous commitment to team science and investment in the future of biomedical research.'— Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH Share 'The FNIH builds powerful cross-sector partnerships to tackle complex medical challenges that can't be addressed effectively by any single organization or company. This year's awardees are key to that effort,' said FNIH President and CEO Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH. 'We are deeply grateful for their generous commitment to team science and investment in the future of biomedical research.' NCATS, one of the NIH's 27 Institutes and Centers, has partnered with the FNIH on various public-private projects. NCATS is the NIH lead for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® (AMP®) Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium, which aims to streamline manufacturing and pre-clinical testing for gene therapies for rare diseases. It played a critical role in the 2020 launch and execution of the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines program, which helped identify treatments for COVID. NCATS participates in several AMP programs as well as the Biomarkers Consortium and design phase projects focusing on development of regulatory approval for pediatric medical devices, new approach methodologies (NAMs) and drugs for ultra-rare cancers. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc./Alexandria Venture Investments helped catalyze the FNIH's public-private partnership focused on the development of biomarkers for major depressive disorder to address the urgent need for new medicines for neuropsychology. The company continues to play a pivotal role in identifying partners and securing funding, which will be critical to the advancement of the MAP-D: Multi-Level Assessment & Phenotyping in Depression program. Alexandria was an Innovator Sponsor of the inaugural FNIH Team Science Day, a celebration of team science and its role in solving complex biomedical challenges, held at the Alexandria Center® for Life Science – New York City. The Goldenberg Family Foundation, led by pioneering cancer researcher and entrepreneur David M. Goldenberg, ScD, MD, and his son, Neil Goldenberg, MD, PhD, associate dean for research at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, has generously invested in the pipeline of talented biomedical researchers. The Foundation funds educational programs at the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education that provide unique learning opportunities for high school and postbaccalaureate students who are interested in pursuing careers in healthcare and biomedical research. The Foundation also provided a new $2.5 million gift to support neuroscience research awards through the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative at the NIH. The Charles A. Sanders, MD, Partnership Award is named for the founding Chairman of the FNIH Board of Directors. The recipients will be awarded at the 13th Annual FNIH Awards Ceremony on the evening of Oct. 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The 2025 Paul-Gallin Trailblazer Prize for Physician-Scientists, the Kovler Prize for Trust in Life Science Journalism, and the inaugural Montrone-Seigel Prize in Biomedical Sciences also will be presented. The FNIH gratefully acknowledges its Annual Awards Ceremony Premier Sponsors, Fred and Donna Seigel and Mr. Perry Steiner and Ms. Vanessa Kay, and Visionary Sponsor, Pfizer, Inc. For more information about the Partnership Award, click here. About the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) builds public-private partnerships that connect leading biomedical scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with their counterparts in life sciences companies, academia, patient organizations, foundations, and regulatory agencies (including the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency). Through team science, the FNIH solves complex health challenges and accelerates breakthroughs for patients, regardless of who they are or what health threats they face. The FNIH contributes to the development of new therapies, diagnostics, and potential cures; advances global health; and helps train the next generations of scientists. Established by Congress in 1990 to support the mission of the NIH, the FNIH is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information about the FNIH, please visit
