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Issued by

Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)

Purpose

Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Office of Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) in the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking information on capabilities of commercial organizations, non-profit organizations and universities to provide research resources necessary for the conduct of biomedical research in nonhuman primates (NHPs), and information on expectations for future needs for NHP resource expectations by the research community.

Background

The DPCPSI within the Office of the NIH Director performs critical analysis tasks in support of numerous key areas of emerging scientific opportunities or rising public health challenges and helps to accelerate investments in these areas to make sure new ideas have a chance to develop. Under the umbrella of DPCPSI, the ORIP is undertaking a research study to reassess the demand for and use of NHPs in biomedical research. NHPs are critical for biomedical research because of their close physiological similarities to humans, which allows them to serve as models for human disease. ORIP funds a comprehensive grant portfolio of NHP-related centers, resources and projects that enables stages of translational research from discovery to final testing before initiation of human clinical trials. The study being undertaken by ORIP will provide critical information on current and future NHP needs and how those needs are being met. The study findings and aggregate data will be useful in guiding the NIH and the biomedical research community regarding meeting future national resource needs.

As part of this study, the ORIP is seeking to develop an inventory of sources capable of providing a wide range of professional, technical, and support services to the biomedical research community to enable projects that require studies in various NHP species, across the full spectrum of biomedical research. The ORIP seeks information on capabilities from U.S. organizations that breed NHPs and/or provide NHP research services and either (1) provide NHP-related services on a fee-for-service basis, or (2) engage in active outreach to establish collaborations with external investigators who require access to NHP resources that can be provided by the organization. Information is sought from organizations that have a holding capacity of 100 or more NHPs with a typical annual throughput of 400 or more NHPs.

The ORIP is also seeking information from NHP service providers on their expectations regarding future demand for the services they offer.

Information Requested

Information is sought on NHP research service provider capabilities in each of the following areas:

1. Research services offered (including specialized techniques and expertise)
2. Veterinary and other research support services offered
3. Specialized facilities (e.g., ABSL-3/4 laboratories)
4. Specialized major equipment (e.g., fMRI, confocal microscopy, etc.)
5. Unique or unusual resources (e.g., databases, models, etc.)
6. NHP species currently used, species maintained as breeding colonies, and housing capacity
7. Expansion potential in terms of NHP production

Comments from NHP research service providers are also solicited regarding the following questions:

1. Compared to current usage, is the usage of certain NHP species anticipated to increase or decrease over the coming 5 years, and if changing, for which species and what factors are thought to be responsible for the expected changes?
2. Are there significant new capabilities (e.g., technologies or techniques) that are likely to become more important in NHP research in the coming 5 years, or conversely, are there capabilities that are currently in use that are expected to be of diminished importance?
3. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on biomedical research and created unique challenges for NHP resources and research. Will these pandemic-related challenges continue to affect research projects? If so, how will it affect planned usage and the ability to undertake new research projects in the future?

How to Respond

All responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically by email at NHPAnalysis@nih.gov as a Microsoft Word or text-searchable PDF file or through the website https://orip.nih.gov/NHPAnalysis. Respondents are requested to limit their response to 15 pages, but longer responses will be considered.

Responses to this RFI are voluntary. This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation for applications or an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the National Institutes of Health, or individual NIH Institutes or Centers. The government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the government’s use of that information.  Any proprietary or commercially sensitive information that is included in your response must be appropriately marked as such. The Government reserves the right to publicly release any non-proprietary, non-commercially sensitive technical information in any analysis based upon it. Information and data analyzed may appear in reports and be publicly shared on an NIH website. The NIH will not acknowledge receipt of information submitted or provide comments to any responder.

Responses to this RFI will be accepted through September 7, 2023.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Stephanie Murphy, VMD, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM)
Office of Research Infrastructure Program (ORIP)
Telephone: 301-435-0744
Email: stephanie.murphy@nih.gov