Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) | BAA 18 100 SOL 00003

Opportunity Information: Apply for BAA 18 100 SOL 00003

The BARDA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA 18 100 SOL 00003) is a standing, open-competition funding opportunity run by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) through the Office of Acquisitions Management, Contracts, and Grants (AMCG) on behalf of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Its purpose is to bring forward advanced research and development (R&D) that strengthens national preparedness by moving medical countermeasures (MCM) for major public health threats closer to real-world use. The focus is on threats that could significantly impact the U.S. civilian population, including chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) incidents, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases. A central theme of the announcement is translation: projects are expected to help mature candidate products and technologies toward U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensure, clearance, or approval, rather than stopping at early discovery. Alongside product development, BARDA also signals interest in work that advances enabling capabilities such as platform technologies, modeling and forecasting, and visual analytics that can improve preparedness decision-making and response.

The opportunity aligns with U.S. preparedness policy and statutory authorities, specifically the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) and the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act (PAHPRA). Those laws authorize BARDA to continuously scout and support promising countermeasures, coordinate advanced development across HHS, accelerate innovation in priority unmet-need areas (including activities needed to meet regulatory requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and related authorities), and make awards using multiple mechanisms. The BAA is also explicitly tied to the broader HHS Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) priorities described in the 2016 PHEMCE Implementation Plan for CBRN Threats, which effectively frames the kinds of capability gaps and readiness goals BARDA is trying to close.

BARDA lists fourteen R&D areas of interest, giving applicants multiple entry points depending on the threat and the type of solution. These areas include: (1) CBRN vaccines; (2) antitoxins and therapeutic proteins; (3) antibacterials; (4) radiological/nuclear threat medical countermeasures; (5) chemical threat medical countermeasures; (6) burn medical countermeasures; (7) diagnostics; (8) influenza and emerging infectious disease (IEID) vaccines; (9) influenza and IEID therapeutics; (10) respiratory protective devices; (11) ventilators; (12) MCM production platform systems; (13) modeling as an enabling technology for influenza, emerging infectious disease, and CBRN threats; and (14) visual analytics as an enabling technology for influenza, emerging infectious disease, and CBRN threats. Taken together, the scope covers both classic MCM categories (vaccines, drugs, biologics, diagnostics) and response-critical hardware and systems, plus cross-cutting tools that improve situational awareness and planning. The practical implication is that BARDA is not only looking for single products, but also for scalable manufacturing approaches and analytic methods that make preparedness faster, more reliable, and more data-driven.

Funding is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement under CFDA 93.360 (Health). As a cooperative agreement, awardees should expect substantial federal involvement compared with a typical grant, often meaning closer coordination, defined milestones, and programmatic oversight aimed at keeping development aligned with national needs and a regulatory path. The announcement indicates the government expects to make one or more awards, but it does not commit to a specific number, and it notes that funding depends on congressional appropriations and may change based on government discretion and availability of funds. The source data also lists an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that budgets are not pre-capped in the public synopsis and will be determined based on the proposed scope, merit, and available funds rather than a fixed published maximum.

Eligibility is broadly open: “all responsible sources” may apply, including private-sector organizations, academic institutions, and government laboratories, either as single applicants or as teams/consortia. At the same time, applicants must meet standard responsibility criteria such as adequate financial resources, ability to meet performance schedules, a satisfactory record of integrity and performance, appropriate organizational and technical controls, relevant experience and skills, and access to the necessary facilities and equipment. Special rules apply to Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and other government entities. Because of competition limitations, they cannot participate unless they can demonstrate the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide specific supporting documentation: FFRDCs must submit a letter from their sponsoring organization citing the authority allowing them to compete and confirming compliance with the sponsor agreement, and government entities must cite statutory (and where applicable contractual) authority plus relevant regulatory guidance and evidence of agency approval. BARDA reviews these eligibility showings case by case, but the burden of proving eligibility for every team member rests with the proposer.

The BAA also emphasizes inclusivity and capacity-building in the applicant pool. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Institutions (MIs), and a range of small business categories (including small disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and HUBZone firms) are encouraged to apply and/or join teams. Finally, consistent with HHS financial assistance policies and federal nondiscrimination rules, the announcement states that no person may be excluded from participation or subjected to discrimination on protected grounds in programs receiving HHS assistance.

Key administrative details from the source data include: Funding Opportunity Title “Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA),” Funding Opportunity Number “BAA 18 100 SOL 00003,” Opportunity Category “Discretionary,” Funding Instrument Type “Cooperative Agreement,” Agency “Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response,” and an original closing date of 2020-10-31 (reflecting that this was structured as an ongoing announcement over a period rather than a single short application window). The overall message of the opportunity is straightforward: BARDA is seeking mature, development-ready efforts that can credibly progress countermeasures and enabling technologies toward regulatory readiness and deployment for high-consequence public health emergencies.

• The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.360.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-10-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for BAA 18 100 SOL 00003

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