Inactive

FY21 JWMRP Advancement of Previous Department of Defense (DoD) or Service Funded Medical Research and Development (R&D) Projects RFI Number: W81XWH-21-RFI-JWMRP Agency: Department of the Army Office: ... FY21 JWMRP Advancement of Previous Department of Defense (DoD) or Service Funded Medical Research and Development (R&D) Projects RFI Number: W81XWH-21-RFI-JWMRP Agency: Department of the Army Office: U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity Synopsis: 1.0 SUBJECT: The Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program (JWMRP), managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the US Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), provides an opportunity to advance previously funded DoD or Service medical R&D projects that address the medical requirements of the Services. The JWMRP complements and enhances the Defense Health Program by facilitating the further development of promising industry and academic efforts. Each year a broad spectrum of R&D initiatives are considered under the JWMRP. The science and technology development efforts are aligned to one of the six Joint Program Committee (JPC) scientific domains. These are: Medical Simulation and Information Sciences (JPC-1), Military Infectious Diseases (JPC-2), Military Operational Medicine (JPC-5), Combat Casualty Care (JPC-6), and Radiation Health Effects (JPC-7). Through research efforts focused in advanced technology development and product demonstration and validation, the JWMRP offers a pathway to transition maturing medical solutions to the Military Health System (MHS) for the benefit of our Service members and other MHS beneficiaries. In accordance with the Congressional language, the funds appropriated for the JWMRP shall be used to augment and accelerate high priority DoD and Service medical requirements and to continue intramural or extramural projects/initiatives that are close to achieving their objectives and yielding a benefit to military medicine. To be eligible for submission, the project/initiative intended for continuation must have prior Congressionally-directed funding or prior DoD Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funding and the project/initiative must also fit one of the topic areas noted in Section 3.0. JWMRP funds shall not be used for new projects or for basic research. 2.0 DISCLAIMER: This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Neither unsolicited proposals nor any other kind of offers will be considered in response to this RFI. Responses to this notice are not offers and will not be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. At this time, questions concerning the composition and requirements for a future RFP will not be entertained. 3.0 DESCRIPTION: The Fiscal Year 2021 JWMRP has requirements in the following areas: Medical Simulation and Information Sciences Research Program: The Medical Simulation and Information Sciences (MSIS) Research Program focuses on solving complex military healthcare problems using knowledge and advanced technologies. The MSIS Research Program Focus Areas include: (1) Medical Simulation – combat casualty modeling and simulation for training across the entire continuum of care; individualized and team medical provider education systems; autonomous assessment of competence for sustained and adaptive medical readiness; and development of comprehensive live, virtual, augmented, and gaming medical simulation tools to reduce skill decay; and (2) Medical Assist Support Technologies – architecture and platforms for secure, interoperable far-forward casualty response and patient movement systems in multi-domain battlefield platforms for medical missions; research concepts and approaches to develop semi-autonomous/autonomous robotic medical capabilities for evacuation and prolonged field care; next generation medical logistics and best practices recommendations for just-in-time medical asset positioning and placement/replacement; improved documentation of care in theater/operational medicine environments by advancing hands-free/passive data capture/transfer in disruptive theater environments; Artificial Intelligence (AI) decision support and medic clinical decision aids; and predictive models for prolonged care in joint theater operations using synchronous/asynchronous digitized health capabilities for deployed caregivers at all roles of care. Military Infectious Diseases Research Program: The Military Infectious Diseases Research Program (MIDRP) focuses on novel prevention and treatment strategies to treat microbial infections, including multidrug-resistant organisms in combat wound infections, broad spectrum antivirals and broadly protective vaccine platforms for emerging infectious diseases. Diseases of principal interest to the MIDRP are emerging infectious diseases, dengue, bacterial diarrhea, Hanta and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever viruses, as well as multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi. The MIDRP research and product development Focus Areas include: (1) Preventative Measures for Infectious Diseases – biologics, small molecules, and the detection, prevention, treatment, and management of combat wound infections in an austere and a prolonged field care environment; and (2) Therapeutic Measures for Infectious Diseases – novel drug delivery systems, novel medical countermeasures and innovative treatment approaches for multidrug-resistant organisms in combat wound infections and against pathogenic bacterial biofilm formation, as well as broad spectrum therapeutics for viral diseases. This research area also includes treatment options likely to lead to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensable, broadly active therapeutics against multiple endemic disease threats. Military Operational Medicine Research Program: The Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) focuses on developing capabilities to maximize, optimize, preserve, and enhance Service Member health and medical readiness. MOMRP focuses on developing effective biomedical countermeasures against operational stressors to prevent and mitigate physical and psychological injuries during training and operations. MOMRP research and product development Focus Areas include: (1) Environmental Health and Protection – assessment and sustainment of health, Force readiness, and the operational effectiveness of Service Members exposed to harsh operational environments including altitude, cold, heat, undersea, and exposure to environmental toxicant health hazards or a combination of environmental stressors; (2) Injury Prevention, Reduction and Treatment – countermeasures that monitor, prevent, mitigate, and treat Service member physical and neurosensory injuries and performance decrements occurring in training and operational environments; measures to diagnose, assess, and treat Service Members to optimize and accelerate recovery, avoid re-injury, decrease attrition and medical cost, and minimize personal impact to the Service Member to promote, optimize, and enhance readiness; advanced technologies/treatments in definitive care settings for severely injured Warfighters; (3) Physiological Health and Performance – countermeasures to sustain Service Member health and operational effectiveness; interventions to mitigate physical and mental fatigue and improve individual and team performance in training and operational settings, including multi-domain battle scenarios; solutions that optimize physiological and cognitive performance across the spectrum of multi-domain operations; and (4) Psychological Health and Resilience – solutions to maximize resilience to stressors, enhance readiness and psychological health, and decrease Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders, suicide, and risky behaviors (e.g., alcohol and substance abuse, anger and aggression, sexual harassment and assault, and interpersonal and domestic violence). Combat Casualty Care Research Program: The Combat Casualty Care Research Program (CCCRP) provides integrated capabilities for current and future operations to reduce mortality and morbidity and accelerate access to interventions in life-threatening battle injuries and prolonged field care. Challenges within the multi-domain future operating environment will require battlefield solutions that increase capability and capacity for casualty management, while reducing dependency on power, communication bandwidth, transport, and logistical support. The CCCRP research and product development Focus Areas include: (1) Technologies to stop blood loss (particularly non-compressible torso hemorrhage), resuscitate the casualty, and limit the immediate, short- and long-term consequences of severe hemorrhage; (2) Solutions to objectively diagnose, treat, and monitor the immediate, short-, and long-term impairments following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury in combat; (3) Technologies to diagnose and reduce acute secondary organ damage and ischemia-reperfusion injury to extremities; and (4) Research related to the improvements in en route care capabilities from the initial point of injury and throughout the continuum of care, including autonomous care solutions. Radiation Health Effects Research Program: The Radiation Health Effects Research Program (RHERP) focuses on developing medical countermeasures for acute ionizing radiation injury to prevent or treat the effects of acute radiation exposure, including the resultant development of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). The RHERP research and product development Focus Areas include: (1) Post-exposure mitigation of radiation injury; (2) Protection and prevention of injury from ionizing radiation exposure (prophylaxis); and (3) Development of novel radiation biodosimetry tools. 4.0 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Entities desiring to submit a FY21 JWMRP Letter of Interest (LOI) must log into the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) (https://ebrap.org) and paste the following link into the browser window to complete the required steps. https://ebrap.org/eBRAP/application/restrictedNewPreApps.htm?accessCode=3212141671&clientAcronym=CDMRP The applicant must be registered in eBRAP in order to submit a LOI. If the applicant does not have an eBRAP account, they must first register. During eBRAP registration, the applicant should request affiliation with their organization via the list of organizations already registered with eBRAP. The applicant should also identify a Business Official from the list of Business Officials registered with eBRAP. If either the applicant’s organization or the organization's Business Official is not registered with eBRAP, the applicant MUST INVITE them to register. The applicant must populate all the tabs in eBRAP and submit the completed LOI Template that is attached to this RFI, as well as posted in eBRAP. The completed FY21 JWMRP LOI Template should not exceed two pages. Clinical Trial and Technology/Knowledge Readiness Level (TRL/KRL) Definitions are attached and provided in eBRAP for determining the current and projected TRL/KRL of the research or product development effort being submitted by the applicant. All research or product development efforts submitted for continuation must currently be at a minimum TRL/KRL 4 or 5. The FY21 JWMRP LOI SUBMISSION DEADLINE is 5:00PM Eastern Time on 25 February 2021. 5.0 SUBMISSION CONTACT INFORMATION: Any questions related to submission of the LOI via eBRAP should be directed to the CDMRP Help Desk, 301-682-5507 or help@eBRAP.org, which is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Questions related to the content of the RFI shall be sent to Mr. Luke Burke at luke.e.burke.civ@mail.mil, however questions regarding whether an existing project is eligible or fits a stated topic area will not be answered. Telephonic communication will not receive a response.