Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)

BARDA’s high school student internship program launched earlier this year! Our SPRINT intern program aims to build a more inclusive STEM workforce by engaging high school students. Through the program, SPRINT interns learn about our work and broader public health initiatives. Today is #NationalInternDay which recognizes and celebrates the future leaders of the world. Interns are an integral part of the American workforce. Internships provide opportunities to learn more about the industry they might be interested in, and a good internship can be the steppingstone to a fulfilling career. Learn more: https://ow.ly/5epY50SFBum

BARDA DRIVe is continuing to advance digital technologies as medical countermeasures for health security threats and is accepting proposals through the Digital MCMs program. DRIVe is looking for partners with innovative computational approaches and technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), that: ✔️ Are the foundation of new medical countermeasures (MCM) for health security threats, or ✔️ Directly support the development or use of MCMs for health security threats (please note that discovery of new, repurposed, or repositioned drugs, therapeutics, or vaccines is out of scope for this program). Digital MCMs could include those that provide screening or diagnostic support, improve triage or clinical workflows for more efficient responses to health security threats, increase MCM accessibility, support multimodal medicine, or evaluate the utility of real-world data or synthetic data for MCM development. Proposals that use digital technologies to improve MCM availability, access, or user experience for underserved populations are of particular interest.  This R&D funding opportunity is Area of Interest 17, which is described in Amendment 28 to the EZ-BAA solicitation. The deadline to submit is October 31, 2024, at 12 p.m. ET. Learn more and contact the Digital MCMs team at: https://ow.ly/gNtW50RT0eC

In case you missed it: We recently co-hosted the 4th BLUE KNIGHT Symposium with Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS in San Diego, CA. More than 700 attendees came together to share their innovations and discuss opportunities for collaboration to advance next generation health security solutions. We also announced the awardees of the BLUE KNIGHT QuickFire Challenge: Partnering for Preparedness to support current or alumni BLUE KNIGHT residents in navigating the path to commercialization. Congratulations to: Avecris Acclinate Decoy Therapeutics Inc. Neuroene Therapeutics Immunyx Pharma Jurata Thin Film Watch videos from the event here: https://jji.jnj/4bVwgMw

Recently published: BARDA is supporting Phase 2b clinical trials of next-generation COVID-19 vaccines through #ProjectNextGen. Alternative routes of delivery, new mechanisms of action, and inclusion of different viral parts including antigens, have potential to improve efficacy and safety in next-generation vaccines. Learn more about the goals and primary endpoint of these BARDA-supported Phase 2b clinical trials and get access to the full article: https://ow.ly/lRIw50SFtMc

BARDA DRIVe is partnering with CurieDx to develop a digital health tool that uses smartphone images to screen for viral and bacterial upper respiratory infections. They will also conduct usability testing of this capability with patients and clinicians in a telehealth setting. A digital tool for determining viral or bacterial infections could assist telehealth diagnoses and quickly get the right care to people. This project is part of DRIVe’s Digital MCMs program, which supports rapidly deployable and equitably accessible digital health tools for diagnostics and risk assessment. Learn more: https://ow.ly/y1CK50SHqGQ

There’s another chance to submit to DRIVe’s Agnostic Diagnostics program! We’re seeking proposals to advance metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) technology as a diagnostic tool to counter any infectious disease threat. DRIVe is looking for partners to advance technology development in three areas: - Sequencing hardware that is accurate, portable, and cost-effective - Integrated sample preparation and assay components that improve protocol speed, and efficiency - Bioinformatic analysis tools that are user-friendly, automated, platform-agnostic, and support clinical interpretation This R&D funding opportunity is Area of Interest 26, which is described in amendment 23. The deadline to submit is 12 p.m. ET September 30, 2024. Submit early! Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis. To learn more: https://ow.ly/nY1t50RRHzx

We are partnering with Walgreens through the RRPV | Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle to design and carry out a Phase IV vaccine correlate of protection (CoP) clinical study on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized/approved #COVID19 #vaccine. The studies will take place at their pharmacy sites located in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the United States. Through this study, we are aiming to advance #DecentralizedClinicalTrial (DCT) capabilities that improve accessibility while also learning how they can be leveraged to understand vaccine protection across diverse populations. This will be our first award to fund a decentralized vaccine trial exclusively in a retail pharmacy location and where the study is being led primarily by a retail pharmacy organization. Learn more about this partnership: https://ow.ly/8FG350SI2c3

World Brain Day: During a radiological or nuclear incident, blast forces and projectile debris will likely cause traumatic injuries, including head injuries. Ensuring first responders and clinicians have access to reliable technology to diagnose, triage, monitor, and treat patients in these scenarios is paramount. To identify gaps in current traumatic brain injury (TBI) care and explore advances in existing as well as emerging technology, we cohosted an event on neurotrauma diagnosis, monitoring, and assessment in March with the USAMMDA Combat Casualty Care Research Program, within the Department of Defense. Key takeaways from the meeting include the importance of data standardization and collaborative research efforts to advance TBI diagnosis and treatment across diverse healthcare settings in civilian and military contexts. Additionally, keeping end users in mind throughout the product development process helps ensure adoption of critical technology once it becomes available. BARDA is continuing to explore these critical issues to better prepare the nation to respond to mass casualty incidents.

20 years ago, the Project BioShield (PBS) Act was signed into law, granting the U.S. government with funding to support the advanced development of medical countermeasures to address chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear national security threats. Today, we reflect on the impact of the PBS Act on national preparedness and response efforts for these critical threats, including the 39 products supported with PBS funding. Learn more: https://ow.ly/XJ6V50SH9BJ Learn more about our Project BioShield efforts: https://ow.ly/CsEH50SFy9S

We’ve selected Genentech's monoclonal antibody to include as an additional host-directed therapeutic candidate in our phase 2 platform clinical trial to address acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). There are currently no approved therapeutics available to treat ARDS. ARDS is a life-threatening lung condition with multiple causes, including sepsis and severe pneumonia due to known or unknown health security threats such as pandemic influenza and COVID-19. Through the phase 2 study, BARDA will build a strong platform capability to investigate potential therapeutics that could address ARDS. Learn more: https://ow.ly/JYKy50SGm4W