The Developing Medicines through Open Science (DMOS) program offers support and partnership opportunities for preclinical drug development in disease areas neglected by the pharmaceutical industry, such as orphan diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
This program aims to foster collaborations that undertake preclinical work to develop drug candidates in areas of pharmaceutical market failure, establish proof of concept (POC) for an open science path to drug development and further translate innovations into affordable medicines, generate economic activity, and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for DMOS funding, applicants must:
- Propose a preclinical research plan in an area of pharmaceutical market failure
- Conduct research at Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 2-6
- Include at least one Canadian SME
- Provide proof of matching funds to cover the remaining cost, as Conscience will fund a maximum of 33% to academics and 50% to SMEs
- Commit to our Open Science Policy
Eligible activities
With total funding of $15M, of which $5M is allocated to the inaugural round, this program will support projects that:
- undertake preclinical research on life-threatening or severely debilitating diseases currently dismissed by the pharmaceutical industry and
- demonstrate strong target validation and tractability to enable clinical proof of concept.
Funding
The Program covers between 10% and 50% of eligible costs per Canadian participant with maximum total funding per project up to $1,600,000.
Deadline
Full proposal submission deadline was November 22, 2024. Although submissions for the inaugural round are now closed, the program is now accepting proposals on a rolling basis.
