The Division of Research, Innovation and Ventures (DRIVe) of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing this Request for Information (“RFI”) in order to collect feedback on the attached draft solicitation document (see “Attachment 1: BARDA Ventures RFI: Draft Solicitation For Comment”).
BARDA is seeking information and feedback on all components of the attached draft solicitation with comments and feedback sought on the pertinence and feasibility of each component of the draft document. This includes, but is not limited to, feedback in the form of questions/comments related to: restrictions; authorities; proposal instructions; evaluation criteria; and overall solicitation structure as detailed in the draft document. Interested parties are encouraged to provide feedback in the attached Excel spreadsheet (“Attachment 2: RFI – Draft Solicitation Feedback Form”) referencing the page and line numbers including any edits / comments. BARDA is also seeking general feedback on how venture capital practices can best be employed through this potential framework.
BARDA Division of Research Innovation and Ventures (DRIVe) seeks to partner with a third party entity (Venture Partner) that will address gaps in preparedness and areas within the continuum of response which require innovative and entrepreneurial approaches that would not be considered under traditional medical countermeasure (“MCM”)3 development.
BARDA envisions establishing a sustained and ongoing bilateral partnership utilizing venture capital practices to address the following objectives/tasks:
- Foster, promote, and accelerate the development and innovation of medical countermeasures and related tools, technologies, data, and techniques to meet strategic 31 response needs,
- Address unmet health security needs that are directly related to saving and protecting American lives from 21st Century health security threats,
- Provide expert consultation and advice to foster innovators and commercially viable medical technologies…
