PEDIATRIC CIRCULATORY SUPPORT

RELEASE DATE:  November 19, 2002

NOTICE:  NOT-HL-03-004

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
 (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov)

RFP/BAA:  NHLBI-HV-04-01

Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  March 21, 2003

Proposal Receipt Date:  May 21, 2003

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases (DHVD), National Heart, Lung, and 
Blood Institute (NHLBI) intends to release a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) 
entitled "Pediatric Circulatory Support" for basic and applied research to 
develop novel circulatory assist devices or other bioengineered systems for 
infants and children with congenital and acquired cardiovascular disease who 
experience cardiopulmonary failure and circulatory collapse.  This 
announcement is released under NAICS code 541710, for research and 
development contracts.  The applicable size standard is 500 employees.

The primary objective of the BAA is to develop novel circulatory assist 
devices including left and right ventricular assist devices, extracorporeal 
gas exchange systems, and other bioengineered systems for infants and 
children with congenital and acquired cardiovascular disease.  Offerors are 
encouraged to propose basic physiological and bioengineering studies 
necessary for the design and evaluation of novel pediatric assist devices.  
This may include pre-clinical and clinical studies that explore innovative 
strategies to meet the circulatory needs of the pediatric patient population.  
Each offeror is expected to focus on overcoming the physiological and 
bioengineering hurdles that currently impede development of extracorporeal 
and implantable assist devices for infants and small children.  Systems must 
be, for example, appropriately sized, but capable of providing adequate 
cardiac output for the infant or child, while avoiding complications 
associated with the patient's small size, such as vascular injury or 
thrombosis.  It is not anticipated that every offeror will propose a program 
that includes clinical testing within the five contract years, although each 
proposal should include the design and evaluation of devices with a clear 
potential for future clinical application.  The contractors will need to have 
considerable medical/scientific expertise in order to carry out the work to 
achieve the highly sophisticated research and technical objectives of this 
program, using biomedical staff including materials science and 
bioengineering, pediatric cardiologists and surgeons, and facilities involved 
in cardiovascular surgical treatment of infants and children.  This is not a 
solicitation for contract proposals.

The solicitation will be posted on the NHLBI Home Page, which can be accessed 
through the NIH Website (http://www.nih.gov).  At the NIH Home Page select 
"Grants and Funding Opportunities," then select "Research Contracts"; from 
the listing select "National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)."  
Offerors with Internet access may go directly to 
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/funding/inits/index.htm#rfp and search by BAA number 
or title.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Awards under this solicitation will be made to offerors located in the 
continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii.  Foreign awards may be 
considered.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

The NHLBI anticipates awarding approximately four to eight (4-8) contracts 
based on technical merit, available funds, and programmatic balance.  The 
total project period for the BAA will not exceed five years.  The anticipated 
award date is February 15, 2004.  This will be a best value acquisition based 
primarily on technical merit.


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