2026 Stanford and LCC Technologies Alliance

Request for Proposals for Small Molecule Therapeutics

The Alliance between Stanford University and LCC Technologies is accepting proposals for medicinal chemistry support from hit identification through to lead identification of drug prototypes. The Alliance aims to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries at Stanford University into new medicines through prototyping of innovative small molecule therapeutics. Basic research, including target identification, is outside the scope of the current LOI solicitation.

Aim and scope

Small molecule drug prototyping: 

Engineering of one or more small molecule leads to improved potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics and/or pharmacodynamics with the goal of identifying a high-quality, patentable drug prototype. Projects with one or more small molecule leads (or series) as starting points for medicinal chemistry are encouraged to apply. Projects that have successfully completed HTS campaigns are eligible to enter.

Competitive projects require: 

  1. A strong therapeutic hypothesis that addresses a poorly met medical need 
  2. A novel biological target or mode-of-action that is well-differentiated from other ongoing translational programs in academia or the biopharma industry
  3. Reproducible in vitro assays and/or animal models to guide small molecule drug prototyping 

The goal of each project is to validate the therapeutic hypothesis underpinning the scientific discovery while generating intellectual property around the drug prototype that emerges from this work.

Support provided

Selected projects receive full support from LCC’s Medicinal Chemistry Team to facilitate the design and synthesis of novel small molecules to identify drug prototypes. Support will focus on improving drug-likeness of early leads including, selectivity, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of small molecule therapeutic candidates against established molecular targets through iterative design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycles.

The Alliance will not provide salary support for members of the PI’s lab.  Awarded projects can be supported for 12–18 months, according to a predefined project plan with critical milestones and go/no-go decision points. Details regarding specific roles, responsibilities, and financial allocations will be elaborated in individual award letters issued to selected projects. The specific level of support will vary by project needs.

About LCC Technologies

LCC is a global platform technology partner for biopharma companies seeking to discover and develop first-in-class and best-in-class small molecule therapeutics. The platform is led by experienced medicinal chemists and leverages synthetic chemistry automation and a large, curated collection of building blocks to provide rapid access to drug-like molecules for iterative design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycles.

Learn more about LCC Technologies

Deadline

All LOIs must be received by 5:00 PM PDT on Friday, October 23, 2026. The most promising proposal will be selected for full proposal development.

Eligibility

All Stanford faculty with PI status are eligible to apply (UTL, UML, NTLR and *CE appointments). *Instructors and Clinical Instructors are eligible only with faculty PI waiver.

Application instructions

Please download and complete this questionnaire and IP checklist and email them to:  medicinalchemistry@stanford.edu with following subject line: "Application submission: Stanford-LCC Small Molecule Therapeutics".

 

Contact

For further information about the Stanford and LCC Technologies Alliance, please contact Dr. Mark Smith (mxsmith@stanford.edu), Head of Medicinal Chemistry at the Nucleus at Sarafan ChEM-H.