Amendment 21: DRIVe EZ Broad Agency Announcement

EZBAA-22-100-SOL-00003

Amendment #021

Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority Division of Research, Innovation & Ventures (DRIVe)
Easy Broad Agency Announcement EZBAA-22-100-SOL-00003

The purpose of Amendment #021 is the following:

1) Add the following Area of Interest (AOI):
AOI #27: Stopping Secondary Spread

EZBAA-22-100-SOL-00003

Amendment #021

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW INFORMATION

A. Development Opportunity Objective:

Under this Amendment, DRIVe is doing the following:
1)

Adding the following research Area of Interest (AOI):
AOI #27: Stopping Secondary Spread

We are seeking abstract submissions for the following AOI: AOI #27: Stopping Secondary Spread [S3]
Pharmaceutical Medical Countermeasures for Interruption of Respiratory Virus Transmission Person-to-person transmission of respiratory viral pathogens gives rise to outbreaks/pandemics, viral evolution, and the emergence of new strains that resist treatment and evade immunity. Interrupting respiratory disease transmission cycles is a critical component of public health efforts, but current strategies are exclusively non-pharmaceutical in nature (e.g., masking, social distancing, quarantine). Current medical countermeasures (MCM; i.e., vaccines and therapeutics) are designed to prevent severe respiratory disease but their impact on viral shedding / person-to-person transmission is variable. To that end, the overarching goal of the Stopping Secondary Spread (S3) program is the advancement of novel MCMs that block the person-to-person transmission of respiratory viral pathogens. For this program, a "transmission blocking agent" either: 1. reduces the likelihood of transmission of respiratory viruses from infected individuals (i.e., mitigates the spread of a viral respiratory pathogen from actively infected cases to close contacts); or
2. reduces the likelihood of respiratory infection following exposure (i.e., prevents infection in a healthy individual who was recently exposed to an actively infected case).
The S3 program aims to develop, evaluate, and ultimately advance investigational products for which the primary endpoint is the interruption of respiratory disease transmission. Whether used as part of outbreak/pandemic response or as a strategy for seasonal respiratory diseases, transmission blocking agents that prevent secondary spread of pathogens would be complementary to traditional drugs and vaccines that have the goals of disease treatment and prevention.