Frequently Asked Questions

The Incyte Ingenuity Awards aim to provide funding to support innovative initiatives annually that address specific needs for people impacted by serious diseases, such as HS, GVHD and vitiligo, including patients and their providers.

Incyte is proud to launch year one of the Incyte Ingenuity Awards in HS to fund thoughtful, creative and original programs and resources that address specific needs of people living with this condition. The program consists of awards that will fund novel innovative initiatives that fall within two categories: one providing up to $35,000 and another offering up to $100,000 to support projects of different scales. While not required, selecting multiple recipients per category is permitted. Judges may award multiple recipients in each category, but the total award amount will not exceed $135,000 across all chosen recipients in any given year

The Incyte Ingenuity Awards in GVHD™ launched in 2020. Click here to learn more.

The Incyte Ingenuity Awards in Vitiligo™ launched in 2022. Click here to learn more.

Applications are welcomed for:

• Nonprofit 501(c)(3), patient, policy and caregiver organizations
• Healthcare providers and junior faculty of healthcare organizations who apply on behalf of their organization
• Individuals or other companies interested in applying must partner with a nonprofit organization or a healthcare facility (e.g., hospitals, academic research centers, etc.) to be eligible

Applications will be disqualified if:

• Focus is on a particular therapeutic agent, translational research or clinical research that is interventional in nature
• Program is based on an existing initiative, with no evidence of ingenuity
• Organization is improperly identified as a 501(c)(3) organization
• Application is submitted by a healthcare professional as an individual (individuals will need to partner with a not-for-profit or other organization to be considered)
• Defined scope does not serve or plan to address a specific need of the HS community
• Request in funding exceeds 25 percent of an organization's overall annual budget and/or includes indirect costs
• Application is submitted by an employee of Incyte, and/or other vendors or members of the immediate family of any such persons
• Program is duplicated, with multiple copies of an application submitted by the same organization
• Program exceeds the maximum application limit per organization (more than five)
• Program includes monetary support, gifts or other items of monetary value to patients, either directly or indirectly
• Applicant and/or organization are not based in the United States

While multiple applications may be submitted by an eligible applicant, only one application can be selected for the award per applicant.

Incyte reserves the right to modify the eligibility requirements at any time.

The judging panel will only consider an application made in the name of a healthcare institution or organization. Individual healthcare professionals are not permitted to apply independently.

The application process will occur in two rounds:

• Round one: Interested applicants can apply by completing an online letter of intent or by filling out the PDF and submitting it via email to IIAinHS@realchemistry.com.
• Round two: Selected applicants will be asked to fill out a round two application form and respond to any specific questions asked from the judging panel via email. This will provide the judges with further information about budget breakdown, timeline of milestones, measurable elements, anticipated outcomes, challenges and specific information and unique questions related to each individual application.

Applications are due March 31, 2026.

A judging panel consisting of up to five experts in the community (i.e., patient advocates and physicians) selected by Incyte will review all applications and select recipients based on specific pre-established criteria. Incyte will not provide any advice or input during the judging process and all decisions made by the judging panel are final.

The judging panel will consider the following criteria when evaluating each award application:

• Does the applicant meet the eligibility requirements?
• Did the applicant collaborate with any other organizations to optimize the success of the initiative?
• Does the application contain all of the necessary details and supporting documents? Will the program be impactful for the HS community?
• Does the proposal exhibit a thoughtful, creative and innovative approach to address a specific need within the HS community?
• Does it add a new resource or method of support to the community (without providing financial support, gifts or other items of monetary value to patients, either directly or indirectly)?
• Can the proposal be completed within the one-year time frame?
• Does the proposal demonstrate a clear purpose and rationale?
• Does the proposal include a realistic and appropriate budget?
• Does the proposal have clear and measurable outcomes? Does it follow the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely) methodology for setting goals?

Incyte reserves the right to change the judging criteria at any time.

The following components must be addressed for an application to be considered complete:

• Confirmation of eligibility criteria
• Contact and organization information
• Identification of any collaboration and connection to the HS community
• Indication of which award the project is applying for
• Project proposal, including project name, objectives and summary of how it addresses a specific need for the HS community
• Project’s intended outputs and impact (quantifiable description encouraged)
  • Dissemination/distribution plan
  • Measurable outcomes (short-term and long-term)

Selected applicants from round one will be asked to fill out a round two application form and respond to any specific questions asked from the judging panel via email to provide the judges with further information, including:

• Realistic budget breakdown and timeline of milestones to execute initiative within one year of selection
• Measurable elements and anticipated outcomes that will define success and demonstrate impact
• Identification of any organizational challenges in execution
• Specific examples or links to supporting resources related to your proposal (i.e., share a video or material that is similar to your proposal, if it exists)

While multiple applications may be submitted by an eligible applicant, only one application can be selected for the award per applicant.

Following the judges’ evaluation of round one letters of intent, invited applicants will learn the outcome of round one in May 2026.

Once the judging panel has made its final decision, the applicants for each award will be informed of the judges' selection by August 2026.

Incyte will announce the recipients of the Incyte Ingenuity Awards in HS in November 2026.

Yes. The Incyte Ingenuity Awards in HS do not require applications to be written in English.

Incyte is offering Incyte Ingenuity Awards in HS with differing amounts of annual funding based on the proposed projects’ needs and scope.

The program will fund novel innovative initiatives that fall within two categories: one up to $35,000 and another for up to $100,000 to support projects of different scales. While not required, selecting multiple recipients per category is permitted. Judges may award multiple recipients in each category, but the total award amount will not exceed $135,000 across all chosen recipients in any given year.

Total amount requested in funding cannot exceed 25 percent of an applying organization’s overall annual budget and/or includes indirect costs. The specific amount of funding provided by Incyte will be case-dependent for each proposed initiative and evaluated on the investment deemed necessary to implement and execute said proposal.

Indirect costs are defined as the cost of day-to-day, general operating and/or administrative expenses not directly associated with a specific project. Examples of indirect costs include facilities expenses (rent, utilities, building maintenance, etc.), administrative support fees (HR, general finance, IT, etc.) or non-project related travel expenses. These are not costs associated with the delivery of your proposed program/project services, but the costs of maintaining and managing the organization through which your proposed program/project services are delivered. Indirect costs should not be included in your proposal's budget.

Incyte reserves the right to amend its indirect cost policy at any time.

Incyte will provide no assistance in executing the awarded initiatives outside of providing the awarded amounts in funding; however, Incyte will collect and evaluate an interim and final review of the projects.

After the award recipients are selected, contracting with Incyte will begin. Each award is on its own timeline with no implication on the contracting process of the other. Once all paperwork is finalized, the awarded amounts of funding will be shared with the recipient for execution of the agreed upon proposal.

Once the award recipients are notified, they will officially accept recognition by signing an agreement with Incyte. The recipient must:

• Officially accept recognition, execution of a signed agreement, by Incyte and the recipient
• Confirm that the total amount requested in funding does not exceed 25 percent of an organization’s overall annual budget and/or includes indirect costs
• Commence planning for initiative within an agreed upon timeframe and milestones for reporting; Incyte will “gate” funds to meeting agreed-upon milestones depending on program outline
• Comply with Incyte policies and government regulations
• Report results to the community
• When relevant, serve as a resource to subsequent recipients to pass along learnings as well as participate in media interviews and/or promotional activities to raise awareness on behalf of the Incyte Ingenuity Awards
• If deadlines are unlikely to be met, recipient must inform Incyte within a pre-determined timeframe, provide an explanation of roadblock and mutually agree on a solution and an updated project timeline
• All award recipients may be asked to:
  • Sign a release form in order to allow the use of their organization's name and affiliation to be used in promotional materials, including updates on the Incyte Ingenuity Awards website and Incyte websites, press releases and other materials that promote the program 
  • Attend the recognition ceremony, if available