Alzheimer's Drug-Development Program (ADDP)

NIA Alzheimer's Drug-Development Program

Funds collaborative research alliances that accelerate Alzheimer's drug development in the United States.

The NIA Alzheimer's Drug-Development Program (ADDP), funded under FOAs PAR-24-223 and PAR-25-297, supports drug discovery and development studies targeting Alzheimer's disease through U01 cooperative agreements. As a cooperative agreement, NIA scientific staff play an active and substantive role in project direction throughout the award period — reviewing milestones, participating in scientific decision-making, and guiding project scope — distinguishing ADDP awards from standard investigator-initiated grants where agency involvement is minimal. The program expires November 6, 2027, giving applicants a multi-year window to apply. Funding is drawn from NIA's dedicated congressional appropriation for AD/ADRD research, a protected budget line separate from NIA's core extramural appropriation.

The scientific scope of ADDP encompasses drug discovery, drug repositioning, combination therapy approaches, and translational bioinformatics applied to Alzheimer's disease targets. A companion NOFO, PAR-25-374 for Translational Bioinformatics and Drug Repositioning/Combination Therapy (R01), extends to May 2028 and covers computational and data-driven drug development approaches. Eligible ADDP applicants include universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and for-profit companies. Applications submitted through Grants.gov are reviewed through NIH peer review and then considered by the National Advisory Council on Aging for final funding decisions.

Applicants pursuing ADDP awards should contact a relevant NIA program officer early in the development process given the cooperative agreement structure — milestone frameworks and project scope are typically discussed with NIA staff before submission. Budget requests of $2 million or more in direct costs in any year require a program officer contact eight to twelve weeks before submission. Alignment with NIA's AD/ADRD Research Implementation Milestones is an explicit evaluation criterion, and applicants should consult the current milestones database before finalizing specific aims and proposed outcomes.