BARDA RFI: Needle-less Delivery

BARDA is interested in learning more about the current landscape and technologies and companies in the needle-less delivery space. The delivery platforms should be compatible with biologic payloads (e. g. vaccines, monoclonal antibodies) that utilize the following alternative routes of administration:
– Oral
– Buccal/Sublingual
– Inhalation (e. g. aerosolization)
Other platforms

Technologies NOT of interest:
– Needle-based (e.g. auto injectors)
– Microneedle systems (e. g. patches)
– Implant-based

Particular interest in plug-and-play platforms that have potential to easily allow for the use of a wide variety of vaccines or therapeutics with the platform.

If you are interested in sharing information, please contact Phuong Nguyen at phuong.t.nguyen@stonybrook.edu

7 Dx firms to share $249M from NIH for COVID-19 testing

Seven companies were chosen by the NIH to receive funding for new technologies to boost their testing capacities and help them ramp up production of millions of coronavirus rapid tests to be made available by September 2020. A total of $248.7 million will be invested and shared by Mesa Biotech, Quidel, Talis Biomedical, Fluidigm, Ginkgo Bioworks, Helix OpCo and Mammoth Biosciences. Read more. (Via BIO Smart Brief/Reuters)

Update: NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Programs

The RADx Tech initiative aims to speed the development, validation, and commercialization of innovative point-of-care and home-based tests, as well as improve clinical laboratory tests, that can directly detect the virus. RADx Tech will expand the Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN) established several years ago by NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB).

All scientists and inventors with a rapid testing technology are invited to compete in a national “shark tank”-type COVID-19 testing challenge for a share of up to $500 million over all phases of development. The technologies will go through a highly competitive, rapid three-phase selection process to identify the best candidates for at-home or point-of-care tests for COVID-19. Finalists will be matched with technical, business, and manufacturing experts to increase the odds of success.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Visit program website for full details on the RADx Programs and application process. https://www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/radx/radx-programs

Webinar Recording: How BARDA is Investing $2B to Combat COVID-19

Our fellow BARDA DRIVe Accelerator, Life Science Washington Institute, has made available the recording of their recent webinar with BARDA detailing how the agency in investing to company COVID-19. Click the image to the webinar recording from June 4, 2020

Visit the Life Science Washington Institute webinar page for more information and links referenced in the webinar. https://www.lswinstitute.org/programs/drive-webinar/

Proposal Development Support – SBIR/STTR

The Center for Biotechnology is offering one-on-one SBIR/STTR proposal development counseling and iterative grant writing services to companies – application for next cohort is June 5th!

Companies that have completed our intensive 2-day workshop (or similar program) and/or have previously submitted an unsuccessful SBIR/STTR proposal in the past are eligible to apply. Services provided under this program are awarded through a competitive application process and include a weekly “best practices” proposal development webinar followed by iterative review of section drafts to guide stepwise development of the proposal from start to finish.

Companies selected for this follow-on counseling will be required to contribute $250 and will receive up to 10 hours of iterative proposal development services valued at $2000. These services will be subsidized by the Center for Biotechnology through the Downstate New York SBIR Assistance Program.
Interested companies should apply online no later than June 5, 2020. The application can be found here: https://forms.gle/5m9kAN8nUnzEyXyi9.

Contact Kate Hutchinson kate.hutchinson@stonybrook.edu with questions.