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?
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is part of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within
the US Department of Health and Human Services. Since it was established in 2006, BARDA has facilitated 42 FDA approvals, licenses, and clearances for products addressing health security threats. BARDA’s mission is accomplished through public-private partnerships with industry to share risk, improve efficiency, and accelerate development while sustaining a marketplace that guarantees continued access to the vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other medical products vital to health security.
What is DRIVe and the DRIVe Accelerator Network?
The Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures (DRIVe) was established by BARDA with the goal of building a portfolio of products representing disruptive and innovative approaches to transforming health security. The DRIVe Accelerator Network was launched in 2018 to partner with investment and innovator communities across the nation to stimulate innovation
through both non-dilutive and dilutive funding sources. Life Science Washington Institute is one of thirteen accelerators participating in this national network. BARDA has also extended their focus is to address the current COVID 19 outbreak through two major solicitations: EZ-BAA (funding up to $749K) and BAA (funding up to $8M) with EZ-BAA being under the DRIVe program. Learn about funding opportunities available to COVID-19 and other areas of interest.
DRIVe Program Areas (Click here to view the full EZ BAA and description of funding opportunities) :
- ENACT – Too often, people do not receive adequate and timely treatment for infectious diseases. Early Notification to Act, Control, and Treat (ENACT) aims to provide actionable health information to individuals and medical care providers in early stages of an infection, ideally ahead of noticeable symptoms.
- 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.
- COVID-19 Response – The Rapidly Deployable Capabilities (RDC) team was formed as part of BARDA’s response to COVID-19. The program’s goal is to use previously developed, pathogen–agnostic technologies from the ENACT and Solving Sepsis portfolios. These technologies will promote patient self-monitoring or remote patient monitoring by healthcare providers.
- 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.
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 Laura Sconyers laura@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.
