DoD Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Level 3 | W81XWH 19 BCRP BTA3 2

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 BCRP BTA3 2

The Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Breakthrough Award Level 3 (Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-19-BCRP-BTA3-2) is a discretionary research funding opportunity administered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). It supports science and technology and other research and development activities related to breast cancer under CFDA 12.420, and it uses either a grant or cooperative agreement mechanism depending on the specific award arrangement.

At its core, this award is meant to push breast cancer research toward true breakthroughs rather than incremental progress. Proposals are expected to aim for a major impact on preventing, detecting, treating, or otherwise addressing breast cancer in a way that could significantly accelerate progress toward ending the disease. The program emphasizes that the expected outcome should move beyond minor improvements and instead have the potential to create a fundamentally better approach than what is already approved for use or currently in clinical development. A key expectation is that applicants clearly identify which breast cancer patient populations, or which at-risk individuals, would ultimately benefit if the project succeeds, keeping the work anchored to real clinical and public health needs rather than purely exploratory goals.

The Breakthrough Award is organized into four distinct funding levels, each designed to match different stages on the path toward clinical application. Choosing the correct level is treated as a critical responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI). The program stresses that the level selection must be based on the scope described in the official program announcement, not on the amount of money requested. If a project does not fit the intent of the selected level, it can be rejected even if it might have fit better under a different level. For context, Levels 1 and 2 are offered under announcement W81XWH-19-BCRP-BTA12-2, and Level 4 is offered under W81XWH-19-BCRP-BTA4-2, while this specific opportunity focuses only on Level 3.

Level 3 is geared toward advanced translational research that is close to being ready for clinical investigation, with a strong emphasis on project readiness and feasibility. Applicants need to demonstrate that they already have access to the essential building blocks required to execute the proposed work, such as necessary datasets, human biospecimens, patient cohorts, and other critical reagents. If the research pathway is likely to involve the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the application is expected to show that the team has access to appropriate clinical-grade or clinically relevant reagents (for example, therapeutic molecules) and access to the patient populations needed to move the work into near-term clinical study. The program also expects a realistic timeline that explains how and when the work could enter clinical investigation, and it explicitly notes that small-scale clinical trials, including first-in-human studies or Phase I/Ib trials, may be appropriate within this level when justified by readiness and supporting resources.

A notable feature is the Partnering PI Option, which is designed to encourage meaningful collaborations between two principal investigators. Under this option, one PI serves as the Initiating PI and handles most of the administrative responsibilities for submission, while the second PI is designated as the Partnering PI with distinct submission requirements. Despite the administrative split, both PIs are expected to substantially shape the science, including major contributions to the project narrative, statement of work, and other required components. If funded, each PI is named on an individual award within the recipient organization, reinforcing that both investigators are accountable leaders of the project. The application should clearly explain what each PI uniquely contributes and why the collaboration is necessary to answer the research question more effectively than two separate efforts would. While new collaborations are encouraged, they are not mandatory, and the program discourages using the same individual as a Partnering PI on multiple Level 3 applications unless those applications clearly address distinct research questions.

Finally, the opportunity places strong weight on having the right personnel in place. Applicants are expected to assemble a robust, well-qualified research team with the combined experience and breast cancer-relevant expertise needed to carry out advanced translational work and, where applicable, early clinical testing. In practical terms, this means reviewers will be looking not only at the novelty and potential impact of the idea, but also at whether the team, resources, access to samples and cohorts, and operational plan are credible for a project intended to move toward real-world clinical application.

Administrative details in the public record indicate the opportunity was created May 7, 2019, with an original closing date of September 25, 2019. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional clarifications in the full announcement. The listing also indicates an expected number of awards of 1, and an award ceiling shown as 0 in the extracted source data, which typically signals that applicants should rely on the program announcement for the authoritative funding limits and budgeting rules rather than the simplified data extract.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Level 3" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 07, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 25, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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