"Advancing Biodefense Readiness: On-Demand Biologics, Automated Threat Detection, and Alternative for Testing Medical Countermeasures in High Containment”

Active

Contract Opportunity

The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) is excited to post this summary announcement for the MTEC-25-10-DTRA_Multi Request for Project Proposals (RPP) focused on advancing the following medical and bioengineering technologies:

• Focus Area #1: Biologics On Demand


• Focus Area #2: Automated Clinical and/or Environmental Sampling, Sequencing, and Analysis


• Focus Area #3: Alternative Methods for Testing Medical Countermeasures (MCMs) in High Containment


• Focus Area #4: Microphysiological Alternatives for Gauging Pretreatment Immunogenicity and Efficacy (MAGPIE)

As stated at the end of this announcement, the full RPP is posted to the MTEC website (mtec-sc.org); this notice is intended only to notify interested parties of the available solicitation.

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Background:

The DTRA Chemical and Biological Technologies Department (RD-CB), in its role as the Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) for the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP), manages a broad portfolio of basic and applied research and advanced technology development activities to support critical chemical and biological defense missions.

To meet the intent of this RPP, each White Paper SHALL specifically address ONLY ONE Focus Area of Interest described below. Offerors are not limited to a single White Paper submission.

Focus Area #1 – Biologics On Demand: This focus area aims to advance the state-of-the-art for producing biologics on-demand and near point-of-need with the following characteristics:

• Achieving relevant quantities of MCM.


• Ensuring initiation of protein production within ~24 hours of receiving DNA/RNA template.


• Producing fully bioactive complex proteins.


• Demonstration of identical runs at different locations.


• Feasibility to advance products to and through regulatory approval.

Focus Area #2 – Automated Clinical and/or Environmental Sampling, Sequencing, and Analysis: This focus area aims to advance the development of an integrated, automated system capable of detecting and identifying biological threats in environmental and/or clinical samples with the following characteristics:

• Automated collection of representative samples from various sources (air, water, wastewater, NP swabs, serum, plasma, urine, etc.).


• Onboard liquid handling for nucleic acid extraction and library preparation.


• Integration with a platform that can provide real-time sequencing and identification of biological agents in environmental matrices.


• Embedded bioinformatics tools for immediate analysis and reporting of sequencing data.

Focus Area #3 – Alternative Methods for Testing MCMs in High Containment: This focus area aims to advance alternative models, such as organ-on-a-chip (OoC) and organoid systems, for evaluating MCMs against viral biothreats. Solutions will validate mature alternative model platforms that model human infection and therapeutic response, with a focus on aerosol exposure and oral therapeutic delivery methods. Solutions are expected to compare alternative model data to animal and clinical results, enabling regulatory confidence and operational use in high-containment environments.

Focus Area #4 – Microphysiological Alternatives for Gauging Pretreatment Immunogenicity and Efficacy (MAGPIE): This focus area aims to advance immune microphysiological systems (iMPS) for vaccine evaluation and development. iMPS may include, but are not limited to, immune organoid, organ-tissue equivalent, microfluidics chips or similar systems as well as single or multiple organ models. Solutions will demonstrate iMPS capable of both recapitulating the immunogenicity and efficacy of known vaccines as well as predict that of novel vaccine constructs. This focus area will not only develop cutting-edge iMPS technology but also contribute to the development of new alternative methods aligned with current guidance from regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Insights gained from this effort will inform the design and development of novel vaccines.

Potential Funding Availability and Period of Performance (PoP):

Focus Area 1 – Biologics on Demand: The Government anticipates having approximately $3M to make a single award of ~$1M per year with a base PoP not to exceed 36 months. Offerors are encouraged to propose up to $2M of follow-on tasks for additional option years.

Focus Area 2 – Automated Clinical and/or Environmental Sampling, Sequencing, and Analysis: The Government anticipates having ~$2.4M total for a single award with a PoP not to exceed 12 months.

Focus Area 3 – Alternative Methods for Testing MCMs in High Containment: The Government anticipates having up to $5M for a single award with a base PoP not to exceed 12 months. Offerors are encouraged to propose up to $19.45M of follow-on tasks for additional option years.

Focus Area 4 – MAGPIE: The Government anticipates having up to $2M for a single award with a base PoP not to exceed 12 months. Offerors are encouraged to propose up to $2M per year of follow-on tasks for an additional four option years.

Acquisition Approach:

This RPP will be conducted using a two-staged approach. In Stage 1, Offerors are invited to submit White Papers using the mandatory format provided in the RPP. Based on the Government’s evaluation of White Papers in Stage 1, selected Offerors will be invited to participate in Stage 2 and will be required to submit a full proposal for more detailed evaluation. The Government will evaluate all Proposals submitted and select those that best meet their current priorities using the evaluation criteria described in the RPP. MTEC membership is required for the submission of a white paper in response to this MTEC RPP. To join MTEC, please visit mtec-sc.org/join.

Proposers Conference:

MTEC will host a Proposers Conference that will be conducted via webinar within two (2) weeks after the release of the RPP. The intent of the Proposers Conference is to provide an administrative overview of this RPP process to award and present further insight into the Technical Requirements outlined in Section 3 of this RPP. Further instructions with date/time and registration link will be forthcoming via email and posted to the MTEC website. Government representatives will be present to answer questions as able.

MTEC:

The MTEC mission is to assist the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) by providing cutting-edge technologies and supporting life cycle management to transition medical solutions to industry that protect, treat, and optimize Warfighters’ health and performance across the full spectrum of military operations. MTEC is a biomedical technology consortium collaborating with multiple government agencies under a 10-year renewable Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), Agreement No. W81XWH-15-9-0001, with the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). MTEC is currently recruiting a broad and diverse membership that includes representatives from large businesses, small businesses, “nontraditional” defense contractors, academic research institutions, and not-for-profit organizations.

Point of Contact:

For inquiries, please direct your correspondence to the following contacts:

• Membership questions should be directed to MTEC Member Relations, Ms. Kim Olsen, kim.olsen@mtec-sc.org


• Questions concerning contractual, cost or pricing related to this RPP should be directed to the MTEC contracts team at contracts@mtec-sc.org


• Technical and all other questions should be directed to the MTEC Chief Science Officer, Dr. Lauren Palestrini, Ph.D., lauren.palestrini@mtec-sc.org

To view the full-length version of this RPP, visit mtec-sc.org/solicitations

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