The Moonshot New Medicine Initiative launching high-risk, high-reward science toward TREATMENTS
More than 130 million people in the United States live with a chronic or incurable disease and await better treatments. Meeting their needs demands high-risk, high-reward innovation.
At The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, our scientists can take the next giant leap once they have discovered new aspects of a disease: finding and developing new treatments.
The Moonshot New Medicine Initiative is possible thanks to support from Dr. Herbert Wertheim, the institute’s founding honorary chairman, as well as state, community and donor support.
The MOONSHOT CREW
experiments at scale
Robotic Drug Screening
Leveraging automation to quickly assay the biological or biochemical activity of a large number of drug-like compounds.
assessing possible medicines
Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics
Evaluating whether a compound could make a good drug requires knowing its potency and selectivity, as well as how it is metabolized, a discipline known as DMPK.
refining potential drugs
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicinal chemists in the Bannister lab create many analogs of drug-like molecules to find ones with the best odds of becoming successful medicines.
From lead to candidate
Molecular Therapeutics
The Kamenecka lab advances the design, synthesis and evaluation of novel compounds of biological and therapeutic interest.
Rationale
The Moonshot New Medicine Initiative brings together the specialized resources needed to launch lab discoveries toward patient impact.
The journey from biological discovery to new medicine involves collaboration with many experts.
The institute’s drug discovery unit includes all of those resources:
- An advanced robotic high-throughput screening group
- Libraries of drug-like compounds, including the National Cancer Institute collection, drug repurposing sets, natural products and more
- Drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics experts
- Medicinal chemistry labs that can optimize lead compounds
proof of concept awards
Program Description
The Moonshot New Medicines Initiative Proof of Concept Awards support early‑stage translational research projects from Werhtheim UF Scripps faculty that address unmet medical needs and generate decision‑enabling, proof‑of‑concept or pre‑clinical‑relevant data. These awards are designed to de‑risk innovative therapeutic concepts and enable advancement toward NIH funding, internal translational pipelines or external partnerships.
Key Dates
- PROGRAM RELEASE: May 2026
- ROLLING APPLICATION START: June 2026
- SUBMISSION TYPE: Rolling until funds are exhausted
Funding Mechanism
Institutional Translational Seed Funding (Direct Costs Only)
Participating Unit
Wertheim UF Scripps Institute New Medicines Initiative
Award Tracks
Track 1 – Pilot Proof of Concept (Pilot POC)
Funding: $25,000 to $50,000
Project period: Up to six months
Early translational feasibility projects to establish assays, validate targets or pathways, and generate foundational data for downstream development or funding.
Scientific Scope
Pilot POC Example Activities
- Assay establishment and HTS amenability
- Target or pathway validation
- Preliminary disease‑relevant model validation
- Initial hit validation (<50 compounds)
- Early mechanistic/pathway analysis (in vitro PK)
Preliminary data not required. Graphical abstracts or workflows are acceptable.
Not Supported:
Large‑scale screening (>50,000 wells), medicinal chemistry optimization, IND‑enabling or clinical studies.
Track 2 – Advanced Proof of Concept (Advanced POC)
Funding: $100,000–$150,000 | Project Period: 9–12 months
More mature translational projects designed to generate robust, decision‑enabling datasets aligned with early pre‑clinical development.
Advanced POC Example Activities
- Large‑scale HTS (e.g., 665K compounds)
- AI‑enabled small‑molecule discovery
- Medicinal chemistry and SAR optimization
- Hit‑to‑lead refinement (non‑IND enabling)
- In vitro/in vivo ADME and developability (non‑clinical DMPK)
- Pharmacological and MOA modeling
Not Supported:
Clinical/regulatory DMPK, GLP toxicology, IND‑enabling studies, manufacturing, or formulation development.
Funding Rules and Allowable Costs
- Funds support direct research costs only
- All work is conducted within NMI‑designated support labs
- Faculty effort and faculty salaries are not permitted
- Covered resources include:
- HTS Center (Spicer Lab)
- Medicinal Chemistry (Bannister & Kamenecka Labs)
- DMPK (Cameron Lab)
Eligibility
- Open to all Wertheim UF Scripps faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students
- Awards are project‑based, not PI‑based
- Non‑faculty applicants must include a local faculty PI co‑sponsor
- Postdoctoral and graduate student applicants must submit a PI Letter of Support
- Team‑based and multidisciplinary applications are encouraged
Required Application Materials Checklist
- Two‑Page Project Description
- Therapeutic rationale and unmet need
- Scientific premise and innovation
- Experimental approach and milestones
- Alignment with selected POC trackExpected POC outcomes
- Preliminary data (required for Advanced POC only)
- Sci‑ENv Style Biosketch (including Other Support)
- Letter of Support (postdocs and graduate students only)
Award Administration and Reporting
- Pilot POC awards are funded at project initiation
- Advanced POC awards may include milestone‑based funding
- Awardees submit progress updates and a final scientific summary
- Presentation at an NMI‑sponsored forum may be requested
Click here to submit your application.
Contact
Timothy P Spicer Ph.D.
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