Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington VA 22203-1714

A -- PATHOGEN COUNTERMEASURES SOL BAA96-24 DUE 101196 POC CDR Shaun B. Jones, M.D.,DARPA/DSO, FAX (703) 696-3999, Alan Frederick, DARPA/CMO, FAX (703) 696-2208. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (DARPA BAA96-24): PATHOGEN COUNTERMEASURES. POC for technical matters is CDR Shaun B. Jones, M.D., at (703) 696-4427, fax: (703) 696-3999, e-mail: BAA96-24@darpa.mil. POC for contractual matters is Alan Frederick at (703) 696-0047, fax - (703) 696-2208, email - afrederick@darpa.mil. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting proposals for the development and demonstration of advanced pathogen countermeasures, which will be a key component of DARPA's overarching goal to remove the threat of biological weapons as a factor in the planning and conduct of U.S. military operations. While no defense may stop a determined adversary from introducing biological weapons into combat, a sufficiently robust array of pathogen defenses and countermeasures _ deterrents in their own right _ will reduce the probable damage that would result from the use of biological warfare in a particular operation. It is DARPA's intent to emphasize development of those pathogen countermeasures that will have the greatest impact on the protection of uniformed warfighters and the defense personnel who support them during military operations. The broader DARPA Biological Warfare Defense Program has two additional technology thrusts: detectors, medical informatics. All aspects of the DARPA program are for defensive purposes only. This BAA applies to the pathogen countermeasures thrust. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION - The most sinister offensive biological warfare scenario employs surprise, immediate proximity, and rapidly lethal, persistent agents in overwhelming quantities. Real-time sensing, donning of physical protection, and conventional non-medical countermeasures under these circumstances would be marginally effective. Operational integrity ideally requires timely countermeasures that can defeat biological adversaries within the body before they reach and attack target cells and tissues. The focus of this solicitation is the development of innovative medical defensive countermeasures to both lethal and incapacitating bio-threat agents. DARPA is particularly interested in entertaining proposals that represent the highest potential for revolutionary breakthroughs in biotechnology for this application, while recognizing that such opportunities often carry high risks. DARPA expects the funded research projects to be strongly grounded in scientific and medical principles, yet revolutionary and forward thinking in scope and promise. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to: 1.Strategies to defeat pathogens, specifically addressing a) a pathogens' ability to enter into the body, b) its ability to enter into the target tissue, and/or c) the identification of its specific mechanism(s) of action. 2. Identification of novel pathogen vulnerabilities that can be used to defeat and neutralize them as a bio-threat to the body, or for the development of in-vivo countermeasures (as described in Item 1. above). 3. Development of vehicles for the delivery of countermeasures in the body. 4.Modulation of the immune response to pathogen presence in the body. DARPA is planning a $30 million program associated with this BAA, FY'97 through FY'00, to advance pathogen countermeasure technology. Several parallel research and development projects are likely to be conducted. DARPA also anticipates publishing additional BAA's. PRE-PROPOSAL: Contractors having the technical and management capabilities, facilities, and experience necessary to conduct all or portions of this program are invited to submit a brief pre-proposal describing their technical approach (including supporting data), management concept, participants, relevant experience, and estimated cost and timing of the project. Teaming is encouraged, if appropriate (e.g., industry, universities, and Government laboratories). Submission of a pre-proposal before the proposal is strongly encouraged. DARPA will ask the bidders with the most promising pre-proposals to submit complete Technical and Cost proposals for full evaluation. The initial screening is intended to save bidders the time and expense of developing a detailed proposal that has little chance for award. DARPA intends to respond to pre-proposals within approximately three weeks of receipt with a recommendation to propose or not propose. It is impractical for DARPA to provide a debrief of the pre-proposal. Regardless of the recommendation, the decision to propose is the responsibility of the proposer. All full proposals will be fully reviewed regardless of the disposition of the pre-proposal. All pre-proposals are due no later than 4 PM EDT 16 August 1996. Offerors should submit one original and seven copies of the pre-proposal to: DARPA/DSO, ATTN.: BAA96-24/Jones, 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714. PROPOSAL: The objective of a successful proposal is a feasibility demonstration of the technology proposed for development. Proposers must describe in detail the technical and scientific pathogenic or toxicologic countermeasure under development (Phase 1) and the details of the technology demonstration in an animal host context (Phase 2). All programs must culminate in a significant end-point demonstration of solutions to crucial problems within the initial period of support. Excluded for the purposes of this solicitation are proposals for paper studies and/or evaluations. Such proposals will be judged to be non-responsive. FORMAT AND INFORMATION: Proposers must obtain the Proposer Information Pamphlet BAA96-24, Pathogen Countermeasures. This document provides details of the proposal format (margins - 1 inch minimum, double-spacing, font - no smaller than 12 point, and page limits (10 pages for the pre-proposal, 55 pages for the Technical Volume of the proposal, unlimited pages for the Cost Volume of the proposal)). Page limits include the special cover sheet (must be original - no photocopies), cost summary sheet(s), all charts, figures, and appendices. Facsimile transmissions or electronic media transmissions will not be accepted. Separate attachments, such as institutional brochures, reprints, disks, or videotapes will be ignored. Proposals and pre-proposals not meeting this format may not be reviewed. Unless the proposer objects in writing at the time of submitting a pre-proposal and/or proposal, all pre-proposals and proposals will be opened and processed for administrative and logistic purposes by System Planning Corporation (SPC) of Arlington, Virginia. Relevant SPC personnel will have signed and will have on-file with DARPA appropriate non-disclosure and conflict of interest certifications before handling either pre-proposals or proposals. The Proposer Information Pamphlet BAA96-24 may be obtained by accessing the World Wide Web at URL address - http://dso.sysplan.com/dso/baa/index.htm - and downloading the information for storage and/or printing. Those individuals without access to the Internet or who are unable to obtain the pamphlet in this manner should submit a request in writing via FAX or e-mail to Ms. Katherine Mulholland (fax: (703) 351-8662, e-mail: kmulholl@sysplan.com or kmulholland@snap.org). Within five business days of submission of either the pre-proposal or the full proposal, DARPA will assign a control number that should be used in all further correspondence. This CBD notice itself constitutes the Broad Agency Announcement as contemplated by FAR 6.102(d)(2). A formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement will not be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded. Evaluation and selection of proposal(s) for award will be made to those offerors whose proposals are considered most advantageous to the Government. The Government reserves the right to fund selected tasks from proposals, and to select for award any, all or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. Proposals identified for funding may result in a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or ''other transaction'' agreement, depending on the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction among parties, and other factors. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit pre-proposals and proposals. No portion of this BAA will be set aside for Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and Minority Institution (MI) participation because of the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of development for exclusive competition among these entities. All proposers are encouraged to team with other offerors when appropriate. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Pre-proposals and proposals will be evaluated by a peer review panel that may consist of both government and non-government experts. Proposers who object to having their submissions reviewed and evaluated by non-government personnel must so state in writing at the time of making their submissions. Non-government personnel will have signed and will have on-file with DARPA appropriate non-disclosure and conflict of interest certifications before commencing any evaluation. Evaluation of the proposals and pre-proposals will be based on the following four criteria, in decreasing order of importance: (1) the scientific and technical merits of the proposed effort including the goals and the feasibility of the approach, (2) the quality of the demonstration, the current state of the proposer's art, and the adequacy of the technical tasks proposed to reach this demonstration within the timeframe of the program, (3) the qualifications of the principal investigator and other key research personnel, their record of past performance, and the adequacy of current and planned equipment and facilities to accomplish the research objectives, and (4) cost realism. Note: Cost realism will only be significant in proposals that have significantly under or over estimated the cost to complete their effort. As soon as the proposal evaluation is completed, the offeror will be notified of selectability or non-selectability. Selectable proposals will be considered for funding, non-selectable proposals will be destroyed. (One copy of non-selectable proposals may be retained for file purposes). Not all proposals deemed selectable will be funded. Decisions to fund selectable proposals will be based on funds available, scientific and technical merit, contribution to program goals, and overall program balance. Proposals may be considered for funding for a period of up to one year. CLOSING AND SUBMISSION: All full proposals are due no later than 4 PM EDT, 11 October 1996. Offerors should submit one original and seven copies of the proposal to: DARPA/DSO, ATTN. BAA96-24/Jones, 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714. Early submission of pre-proposals and/or full proposals is strongly encouraged. Selections for awards may be made at any time during the evaluation process. Awards made under this BAA are subject to the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflict of Interest. All offerors and proposed subcontractors must state in writing, at the time of proposal submission, whether they are supporting any DARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the offeror supports, and identify the prime contract number. All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined in FAR 9.501, must be disclosed. This disclosure shall include a description of the action the Contractor has taken, or proposes to take, to avoid, neutralize or mitigate such conflict. Questions regarding this BAA may be submitted in writing, via fax or e-mail to CDR Shaun B. Jones, M.D. (FAX: (703) 696-3999 or 696-0218, e-mail: BAA96-24@darpa.mil). (0191)

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