Cancer Adoptive Cellular Therapy Network (Can-ACT) for Adult Cancers (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA CA 22 028

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 22 028

The Cancer Adoptive Cellular Therapy Network (Can-ACT) for Adult Cancers (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding opportunity designed to build a collaborative research network that can move promising adoptive cellular therapy approaches into early-stage clinical trials, with a particular focus on solid tumors. The overall intent is to speed up how quickly new cell-based cancer immunotherapies are tested in people by bringing together multi-investigator teams that can handle the full pipeline from strong preclinical rationale and translational development through first-in-human or other early clinical evaluations. While the title highlights adult cancers, the description also makes clear that the network is meant to stimulate early adoptive cellular therapy trials for both adult and pediatric solid tumors, reflecting an emphasis on broadly enabling next-generation cell therapy strategies where needs remain high.

This opportunity uses the NIH cooperative agreement mechanism and specifically the phased UG3/UH3 structure, which is commonly used when a project needs an initial milestone-driven start-up phase before transitioning into a larger implementation phase. In practical terms, the UG3 phase typically supports planning, finalizing protocols, putting operational pieces in place, and completing key preclinical or translational tasks needed to justify and safely launch a clinical trial. If the project meets predefined milestones, it can transition to the UH3 phase, which supports execution, including the conduct of the required clinical trial activities. The “Clinical Trial Required” designation signals that the funded work is not limited to laboratory or preparatory studies; the expectation is that recipients will carry out an early-stage clinical trial as part of the award, consistent with the network’s purpose of accelerating clinical testing.

Programmatically, Can-ACT is framed around adoptive cellular therapy, meaning approaches where cells are collected, engineered or expanded, and then administered to patients to recognize and attack cancer. The emphasis is on solid tumors, an area where cell therapies have historically faced added challenges compared to blood cancers, such as tumor heterogeneity, an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, difficulty trafficking into tumors, and on-target off-tumor safety risks when targets are also present on healthy tissues. By focusing on “novel and collaborative approaches to preclinical testing and translational studies,” the FOA is signaling that NCI is looking for teams that can generate compelling translational packages, develop and validate relevant assays, and build the supporting evidence needed to responsibly move a cell product into a clinical setting. Another key theme is collaboration: the network is intended to support multi-investigator teams with the specialized expertise required to manufacture or otherwise prepare a cell therapy product, perform correlative and biomarker studies, manage regulatory and clinical operations, and interpret early signals of safety and activity.

The opportunity is issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the National Cancer Institute, and it is categorized as a discretionary funding program. The listed CFDA number is 93.395, which corresponds to NCI research support. The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-CA-22-028, and the FOA was created on 2022-08-24. The original closing date provided is 2023-06-30. The funding instrument type is a cooperative agreement, which generally means that NIH/NCI staff will have substantial programmatic involvement compared with a standard grant, often through steering committees, milestone oversight, and coordination activities that keep multiple funded teams aligned with network goals.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many categories that commonly participate in NIH programs. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city, and township governments; 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; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (when not institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights 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. At the same time, it clearly limits foreign involvement: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed. In effect, the work supported under this announcement must be carried out entirely within allowable domestic organizational structures.

Taken together, this FOA is aimed at building a coordinated, translationally focused set of projects that can reliably move cell therapy concepts into early clinical trials for solid tumors. The NCI’s emphasis on collaboration, milestone-based phasing, and required clinical testing suggests that competitive applications would typically show an integrated team with clear product and trial readiness plans, robust preclinical justification, manufacturing and quality strategies appropriate for cellular products, and a clinical trial design that can generate interpretable early safety and biologic activity data while enabling learning through correlative and translational endpoints.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cancer Adoptive Cellular Therapy Network (Can-ACT) for Adult Cancers (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.395.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-08-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-30. (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 CA 22 028

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