NIH, NIAMS, 45 Center Drive MSC 6500, Natcher Bldg. Room 5AS13A, Bethesda, MD 20892-6

A -- GENE THERAPY FOR RHEUMATIC AND SKIN DISEASES SOL NIH-NIAMS-96-1 DUE 050196 POC Ms. Eileen Webster-Cissel, 301/594-2543. This announces the availability of a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) which describes in general terms a research topic and outlines proposal preparation requirements. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is seeking proposals for developmental and applied research of gene therapy for skin and rheumatic diseases. The scope of the research includes improvement and adaptation of current gene therapy technology, development of new methods to introduce, maintain and regulate gene expression in target organs and cells, production of new reagents for gene therapy, and development of innovative experimental systems to test the feasibility of using gene therapy technolgies for the treatment of human skin and rheumatic diseases. The offeror will select the disease to be investigated and will justify the selection as being ready for gene therapy research efforts. The Government anticipates awarding three to four cost-reimbursement contracts as a result of this solicitation. This BAA NIH-NIAMS-96-1 will be availabel on or about March 1, 1996 and proposals will be due on or about May 1, 1996. Interested organizations should request either a streamlined or full BAA package. If no selection is made, a streamlined version of the BAA will be provided, which includes only the Research and Technical Objectives, reporting requirements, special requirements, mandatory qualifications, if any, and technical evaluation criteria. After examination of these documents, any organization interested in responding to this BAA must request the entire BAA package in writing. Faxed requests will also be accepted. The fax number is (301) 480-4543. Since a limited number of copies will be printed, requests shall be filled on a first-come first-served basis, until the supply is exhaused. This advertisement does not commit the Government to award a contract. (0044)

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