Accelerating Medicines Partnership Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases: Disease Teams for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Psoriatic Spectrum Diseases, and Sjgrens Syndrome (UC2 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AR 21 015

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AR 21 015

The funding opportunity titled "Accelerating Medicines Partnership Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases: Disease Teams for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Psoriatic Spectrum Diseases, and Sjogren's Syndrome (UC2 Clinical Trial Optional)" is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement program designed to support coordinated, team-based research efforts focused on major autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases. It sits under the broader Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP), a public-private collaboration model intended to speed up the discovery and validation of biological targets and other evidence needed to develop better diagnostics and treatments. In practical terms, this opportunity funds disease-specific teams that can work across institutions and disciplines to generate and analyze high-value datasets, define disease mechanisms, and identify promising pathways or biomarkers that could ultimately translate into improved therapies for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriatic spectrum diseases, and Sjogren's syndrome. The "UC2" mechanism indicates a cooperative agreement, meaning awardees should expect substantial scientific and/or programmatic involvement from NIH staff, along with structured milestones, data-sharing expectations, and active coordination typical of large consortium-style projects. The notice also states "Clinical Trial Optional," which generally means applicants may propose clinical trial activities if they are appropriate to the scientific aims, but a clinical trial is not required for an application to be responsive.

From an administrative standpoint, this is categorized as a discretionary grant program using the cooperative agreement funding instrument, and it is listed under health-related funding activity categories. The opportunity number is RFA AR 21 015, and the original closing date shown is July 15, 2021, with a creation date of March 31, 2021. The CFDA (now often referred to through assistance listings) numbers associated with the program include 93.121, 93.313, 93.846, and 93.855, which correspond to NIH program areas that can support arthritis and musculoskeletal research, immunology, and related biomedical research infrastructure. The notice does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the excerpt provided, which typically means applicants would need to consult the full announcement or NIH guide notice to confirm budget limits, project period expectations, and how many teams NIH anticipated funding.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic U.S. organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status) as long as they are not institutions of higher education; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The opportunity also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. That emphasis signals NIH's intent to encourage participation from a wide range of institutions, including those serving historically underrepresented communities, and organizations that may bring strong community, clinical, or population-based connections to autoimmune disease research.

Restrictions related to foreign involvement are clearly stated. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, meaning foreign institutions, are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, which generally prevents a U.S. institution from submitting an application that is formally based in a foreign branch or overseas component as the applying unit. At the same time, the announcement notes that "foreign components," as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. In NIH terms, this typically means a U.S.-based applicant can include certain well-justified foreign collaborations, performance sites, or resources when they add unique expertise, patient populations, samples, or capabilities not readily available domestically, but the prime award remains with an eligible U.S. organization and must follow NIH rules for documenting and overseeing that foreign component work.

Overall, the core idea of this opportunity is to build or support disease-focused teams that can move beyond isolated projects and instead generate shared knowledge and tools that the broader research community can use to accelerate therapeutic progress. Because it is a cooperative agreement within the AMP framework, applicants should expect that funded teams would operate in a highly collaborative environment, likely with common data standards, rapid data release and sharing, coordinated governance, and measurable deliverables aligned with the program's goals in rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriatic spectrum disease, and Sjogren's syndrome.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Accelerating Medicines Partnership Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases: Disease Teams for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Psoriatic Spectrum Diseases, and Sjgrens Syndrome (UC2 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.121, 93.313, 93.846, 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA AR 21 015

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