Amendment 3: DRIVe EZ Broad Agency Announcement

Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority (BARDA) Division of Research, Innovation & Ventures

(DRIVe)

Amendment 003 Issuance for Easy Broad Agency Announcement

(EZ-BAA) BAA-22-100-SOL-00003

The purpose of this Amendment is the following:
1) Revise the following Areas of Interest (AOI):
AOI #19: Healing Lungs

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW INFORMATION

A. Development Opportunity Objective:

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

Revising the following research Area of Interest (AOI): AOI #19: Healing Lungs

We are seeking abstract submissions for the following revised AOI: AOI #19: Healing Lungs
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious lung condition caused by multiple factors, including viral and bacterial infections, exposure to toxic radiation or chemicals, smoke inhalation, as well as trauma and severe chest injury. ARDS is characterized by an acute and diffuse lung inflammation associated with alveolar fluid accumulation and surfactant dysfunction, which results in improper lung function, leading to low blood oxygen and, in severe cases, causing lung tissue scarring and permanent respiratory impairment. Mechanical ventilation, which is currently the first-line intervention for ARDS patients, often results in further lung injury. Patients who do not respond to mechanical ventilation are more and more frequently placed on veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO), an intervention that remains labor-intensive, and costly, requiring highly specialized personnel, and prone to risks and complications. The Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures (DRIVe) is interested in developing novel technologies to sustain healthy oxygenation levels in ARDS patients, as they heal naturally or await lung transplant, all the while preventing further tissue injury to already damaged lungs, and in advancing solutions for patients refractory to mechanical ventilation. DRIVe is seeking two types of novel technological solutions for severe ARDS patients: 1) non-ECMO methods of oxygen delivery (e.g., synthetic and mammalian cellderived oxygen carriers) that may offer alternative options to severe ARDS management and 2) innovations that simplify the implementation and operation of VV-ECMO, improve its safety profile, and potentially enhance its availability outside of specialized ECMO centers. DRIVe is interested in the following two focus areas, which cover oxygen carrier injectable products and VV-ECMO: