About NExT

The NExT Program was enacted in 2009 through the amalgamation of several NCI Programs and Groups within the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) and the Center for Cancer Research (CCR). Operated primarily under direction of the NCI DCTD, the NExT Program seeks to advance drug discovery and development projects, many of which not addressed by private industry ventures, through drug discovery and development stage gates towards the investigation new drug (IND) application, clinical evaluation, and eventual New Drug Application (NDA) registration with the FDA.

The NExT Program is not a grant mechanism. Awardees will not necessarily receive direct funding; rather, the NCI may allocate various contract-based resources toward the implementation and development of accepted projects. The NCI will partner with successful applicants to facilitate a milestone-driven progression of new anticancer drugs (small molecule and biologic in nature) as well as imaging and theronostic agents.