A potential request for project proposals for technologies such as point-of-care testing, therapeutics, and patient tracking systems.
The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) is excited to post this pre-announcement for a potential Request for Project Proposals (RPP) focused on the development of prototypes aimed to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19).
*CAUTION: All information contained in this pre-announcement has not been formally approved by the Government, and represents MTEC’s interpretation of the situation at this time. All information is subject to change.
PROGRAM BACKGROUND:
In light of the magnitude and potential threat that the coronavirus (COVID-19) poses to our military’s health and readiness, the Government seeks to rapidly accelerate the inquiry, testing, and fielding of new 21st century capabilities, employing novel technologies and approaches to the detection of exposure, prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19 and future emerging threats.
SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS:
This pre-announcement has been developed by MTEC to provide notice for the possibility of one or more upcoming RPPs focused on combating COVID-19. This notice may also help the membership form appropriate partnerships/teaming relationships so that they are poised to respond to the full requirements described in potential upcoming RPPs. CAUTION: These solution requirements have not been formally established by the Government, and are solely MTEC’s interpretation of the critical needs of the U.S. military.
MTEC believes that an emphasis will be placed on technologies that can be deployed as soon as possible but no later than 31 December 2020. In support of this, MTEC has identified the following potential areas of interest:
- Point-of-care diagnostic that provides rapid and accurate determination on exposure to COVID-19.
- Prophylactic(s)/Therapeutic(s) that can prevent and/or treat in a rapid manner (few hours to 2 days) potentially in a non-hospital environment. Repurposing FDA-approved drugs/biologics for prevention/treatment of COVID-19 or testing of drugs/biologics that have already demonstrated safety in humans for the prevention/treatment of COVID-19 are preferred.
- Disease predictive modeling that provides early warning through data capture from several different streams of data to include social media and artificial intelligence (AI) parameter decision tools that would provide actionable information to medical service providers and command structures.
- Patient monitoring, tracking, and management system for in-home or non-hospital environment patient tele-health services to include interface into the Cerner electronic health record.
POTENTIAL FUNDING:
Although there is no specific funding commitment by the U.S. Government at this time, MTEC believes that there may be tens of millions of dollars available for combating COVID-19 programs with a likelihood of follow-on funding.
ACQUISITION APPROACH:
The MTEC will implement the “Enhanced White Paper” contracting methodology for this potential upcoming RPP(s), which will be an accelerated approach to award. Because of the nature and urgency of the program’s requirements, this streamlined approach is anticipated to be a better means to highlight company methodologies and skills required to address the technical and transition requirements. The Enhanced White Paper process requires extremely quick turnaround times by Offerors. Once the RPP is released, Offerors will be required to submit their Enhanced White Papers within two weeks. Enhanced White Papers will include an abbreviated technical approach, detailed statement of work, and an estimate of cost. All Enhanced White Papers will be provided to the Government for scientific and programmatic relevance evaluation. Upon review of the Enhanced White Papers, several Offerors may be invited for informal discussions with the Government. Offerors who are recommended for award will be required to submit a full cost proposal. MTEC anticipates that awards will be issued within 4-6 weeks of the RPP release date. Please pay special attention to the upcoming RPP instructions because of the changes that will be made to accommodate the expedited solicitation to award timeframes.
The upcoming RPP(s) will be posted to the MTEC website (mtec-sc.org) and a notice will be posted on www.beta.SAM.gov to notify interested parties. Contingent upon approval from the Government, the upcoming RPP(s) is expected to be released within the next few weeks and will have an extremely short preparation period (approximately 14 days). Due to the critical and urgent nature of the technical topic area, MTEC membership is NOT required for the submission of an enhanced white paper in response to this upcoming MTEC RPP. However, membership will be required for Offerors recommended for award. To join MTEC, please visit http://mtec-sc.org/how-to-join/.