Funder: [Michelson Found Animals Foundation - https://www.foundanimals.org]
Due Dates: Rolling (Michelson Grants letter of intent) | Prize awarded upon successful product development
Funding Amounts: $25 million prize for product development; Michelson Grants up to $250,000 per year for related research
Summary: Incentivizes development of a low-cost, permanent, single-dose, nonsurgical sterilant for male and female cats and dogs through a $25M prize and supporting grants.
Key Information: Prize-winning product must be safe, effective, ablate sex steroids, suitable for field use, have regulatory pathway, and reasonable manufacturing cost. Grants support promising research even if not meeting all prize criteria.
The Michelson Prize in Reproductive Biology is a $25 million incentivized prize challenge offered by the Michelson Found Animals Foundation. It aims to accelerate the development of a permanent, single-dose, nonsurgical sterilant for both male and female cats and dogs. This sterilant must be low-cost, safe, effective, and suitable for administration in field settings. Additionally, the product should ablate sex steroids and/or their effects, have a viable regulatory approval pathway, and be manufacturable at reasonable cost.
The prize is part of a broader $75 million Michelson Prize & Grants program that supports research and innovation in nonsurgical sterilization technologies for companion animals. To encourage progress toward this goal, the foundation also offers Michelson Grants of up to $250,000 per year to fund research projects that have the potential to develop a product worthy of the prize. These grants may support projects that do not fully meet all prize criteria but promise significant improvements over existing sterilization methods, such as targeting only one sex or species.
Applicants are encouraged to review the Michelson Prize application process before submitting a letter of intent for a Michelson Grant, so that research data can later support a prize application.
| Contact Method | Details |
|---|---|
| michelsonprize@foundanimals.org | |
| Website | https://www.foundanimals.org |