National Institutes of Health · United States

Exploratory Clinical Trial Grants in Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Forecast — not open yet

National Institutes of Health expects to make 4 awards of $300,000 – $600,000 each. This is a forecast: the funder has announced the opportunity but it is not open yet and the estimated deadline is 4 Mar 2027. Eligible applicant types include public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, special district governments, state governments and 12 more.

Deadline: Estimated 4 Mar 2027 (not yet confirmed)
Grant amount: $300,000 – $600,000 per project
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Expected awards: 4
Cost sharing: Not required
Likely applicant types: Public bodies, Universities & research, SMEs / start-ups, Companies, Non-profits From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Reference: PAR-27-109
Assistance listing: 93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research
Last checked: 15 Nov 2026

Open the official call ↗

About this call

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications for Exploratory Clinical Trials Grants Program in the mission areas of NIAMS. The goal of the NIAMS clinical trial program is to support research leading to the prevention or reduction of symptoms and improve outcomes and function in patients with rheumatic, musculoskeletal, or skin conditions or diseases. The purpose of the Exploratory Clinical Trials Grants Program is to foster clinical trials that will lead to clinically meaningful improvements in prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of these conditions or diseases.

This Exploratory Clinical Trials Grants Program is designed to facilitate the execution of short-term, interventional studies. The Program is intended to support a range of exploratory studies, from proof-of-concept/first in human to Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. Such studies must meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial and be feasible within the time and budget constraints of this NOFO. A high priority is the use of such studies to stimulate the translation of promising research developments from laboratory, preclinical, and early human testing into clinical practice.

Read the full text

Examples of research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting early-stage clinical trials, such as but not limited to; first in human, dose-finding or escalation/tolerability/safety/efficacy studies with drugs, biologics, devices, behavioral interventions, and/or physical therapy for treatment of arthritis, musculoskeletal, or skin conditions or diseases.

• Clinical trials to provide data required to support a future, more robust clinical trial whose aim is to help establish the safety and efficacy or effectiveness of an intervention.

• Clinical trials in rare diseases where the number of potential study participants is limited.

• Clinical trials to determine the predictive value of a potential biomarker.

Who can apply

Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Special district governments
State governments
City or township governments
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Independent school districts
Small businesses
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Private institutions of higher education
County governments

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Health

How to apply

Read the full notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) linked from the official page: eligibility, cost sharing and evaluation criteria.
Make sure your organisation has an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI); registration can take several weeks.
For NIH: the organisation and the principal investigator also need eRA Commons accounts; applications are usually submitted through Grants.gov (for example with ASSIST).
Prepare the required forms, narrative, budget and attachments exactly as the NOFO specifies.
Submit before the deadline and keep the tracking number. Check for amendments before you submit.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases · NIAMS_NOFOs@mail.nih.gov · Please contact via e-mail.

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	4 March 2027	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	$300,000 – $600,000	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Total budget	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Funding rate	No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026
Who can apply	Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Special district governments; State governments; City or township governments; Public and State controlled institutions of higher education; For profit…	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Where to apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 15 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.