DRIVe Accelerator Network

Life Science Washington Institute is one of only 13 accelerators in the nation to partner with BARDA’s DRIVe program to solve challenging problems spanning modern health security threats and daily medical care.

What is BARDA? 
Established in 2006, the mission of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is to develop and procure medical countermeasures, vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products, that address the public health and medical consequences of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) accidents, incidents, and attacks, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases. Specifically, BARDA supports the advanced development and procurement of drugs, vaccines, and other products that are considered priorities for responding to and recovering from threats to American national health security. To date, the medical countermeasures and products in this diverse portfolio have received a total of 61 FDA approvals, licensures, or clearances.

What is DRIVe’s Mission?

To help BARDA be prepared for any public health emergency by identifying and derisking the world’s most promising technologies and capabilities, no matter their origin, towards the development of tomorrow’s medical countermeasures.

What is DRIVe’s Vision

To ensure the most effective life-saving medical countermeasures are developed for, available to, and used by everyone who needs them when they need them.

DRIVe Program Areas (Click here to view the full EZ BAA and description of funding opportunities) :

  • Solving Sepsis – Sepsis is one the country’s most urgent and costly systemic health threats. Solving Sepsis is catalyzing technological approaches along the sepsis patient continuum to empower both the patient and the healthcare provider with a focus on innovative technologies.
  • Beyond the Needle – Beyond the Needle is developing alternative vaccine technologies to make vaccinations easier to administer and more widely available. The goal is to reduce the burden of traditional vaccine delivery via needle and syringe on the healthcare system and supply-chain – especially during a pandemic.
  • ReDIRECT – In a chemical emergency, minutes matter and a timely response is necessary to save lives. The Repurposing Drugs in Response to Chemical Threats (ReDIRECT) program aims to repurpose therapeutics that are commonly available in our communities as medical counter measures and treat the symptoms associated with chemical agent exposure.
  • ImmuneChip+ – The focus of ImmuneChip+ is on engineering 3-D in vitro human microphysiological tissues (e.g. lung, liver, gut, heart tissue, or others) and immune system tissues on a single platform, while adding in-line sensors for continuous tissue monitoring and utilizing platform materials suitable for automated manufacturing. We are specifically interested in adding immune system responsiveness to an existing, validated in vitro human tissue model (e.g. lung, liver, gut, heart, or others) and/or model infection with a viral, bacterial, or fungal pathogen, while demonstrating continuous monitoring of the tissues and capability for automated manufacturing of the platform.

NEW AREAS OF INTEREST

    • Bringing Laboratory Testing to Home
    • Digital Health Tools for Pandemic Preparedness
    • Next Generation Sequencing based agnostics Dx for Respiratory RNA virus pathogens
    • Home-based, OTC diagnostics for the detection of SARS-CoV-2
    • Enabling Technologies to Support home-based Diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 Acute Infection

 

For information on applying for one of the BARDA funding opportunities, visit https://drive.hhs.gov/partner.html

For any questions, more information or to request an informational meeting contact Aylin Kim aylin@lswinstitute.org.

In June 2020, LSW Institute hosted a webinar featuring reverse pitches and information about funding opportunities to address the COVID-19 pandemic. View the webinar recording from June 4, 2020.

 

 

 

 

DRIVe Webinar

If your company is developing diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, or other products (software, wearable devices, etc.) to address the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, then this is the webinar for you!

Update: October 2020- Check the current EZ BAA for the most up to date information on Areas of Interest.  

The Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is working to identify and fund medical countermeasures to address the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Life Science Washington Institute is one of 13 BARDA DRIVe Accelerators to assist companies in connecting with BARDA funding resources. Life Science WA Institute hosted this interactive webinar in collaboration with officials from BARDA DRIVe team. BARDA officials delivered a reverse pitch about areas of interest. Additionally, 98point6, a DRIVe-funded company, spoke about their pathway to funding and how COVID-19 has impacted their business.

Speakers:

  • EZ BAA Area of Interest 4.3: Vaccines- Tanima Sinha, MSc, MScPh, Lead Interdisciplinary Scientist (Project Officer) at Department of Health and Human Services
  • EZ BAA Area of Interest 4.1D: Patient Monitoring and Diagnostic Tools, Rapidly Deployable Capabilities- Kim Sciarretta, Ph.D., Interdisciplinary Scientist/Project Officer Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), HHS
  • NIH RADx Initiative- Kerrie Gruber-DeMarco, Ph.D., Intergovernmental & Commercial Partnership Lead, Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority interagency partnership builder
  • EZ BAA Area of Interest 4.1D: Wearable devices and aspects of their development- Šeila Selimović, Ph.D., Program Manager, Early Notification to Act, Control and Treat (ENACT)
  • 98point6: Pathway to DRIVe-funding – Dr. David McCune, Medical Director of Clinical Research and Population Health

Links referenced in the webinar: 

  • The goal of the Point Of Care Technology Research Network is to develop technologies with clinical applications using a network model that enhances complementary strengths and builds multidisciplinary partnerships.
  • The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is urgently soliciting proposals and can provide up to $500M across multiple projects to rapidly produce innovative SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests that will assist the public’s safe return to normal activities. Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx), is a fast-track technology development program that leverages the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Point-of-Care Technology Research Network (POCTRN). RADx will support novel solutions that build the U.S. capacity for SARS-CoV-2 testing up to 100-fold above what is achievable with standard approaches. RADx is structured to deliver innovative testing strategies to the public as soon as late summer 2020 and is an accelerated and comprehensive multi-pronged effort by NIH to make SARS-CoV-2 testing readily available to every American.  (RADx overview and application link)
  • NIH NCI Serological Sciences Network for COVID-19 (SeroNet)  The network is being developed in close collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and other parts of NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services.