Notice Number: NOT-OD-17-004

Key Dates
Release Date: October 3, 2016

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Biomedical Advances Research and Development Authority (BARDA)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to inform the community about updates and clarifications of several components of the Challenge competition posted within the Federal Register including:

Current language:
Eligibility to Win: The Solver shall submit a letter of intent outlining the proposed in vitro diagnostic assay/assay system and its intended use.

Modified language:
The letter of intent must be submitted by December 23, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. ET, for all “Solvers” planning to submit for the Step 1 (Theoretical) stage of the competition.

Current language:
Step 1 Submission Requirements: Optional Appendices describing existing, unpublished experimental data (if available) that support the proposed solution may be included. Please note that while a page limit is not placed on appendices, it is recommended that applicants be concise and include only relevant data in support of the solution.

Modified language:
Any Appendix submitted for Step 1 of the Challenge competition must be limited to 5 pages or less in length. If a longer Appendix is submitted, only the first 5 pages will be considered by the Technical Evaluation Panel and the Judging Panel. The September 8, 2016, announcement incorrectly stated that there was no page length for the Appendix material.

Additional updates:

Submissions for Step 1 of the Challenge competition received after the deadline of January 9, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. ET will be disqualified and not evaluated by the Technical Evaluation Panel or Judging Panel.

Solvers may submit corrections or additional materials in support of their Step 1 submissions so long as the NIH receives the materials by the deadline of January 9, 2017, at 11:59pm ET. Corrections or additional materials for Step 1 will not be accepted or evaluated by the Technical Evaluation Panel or Judging Panel if they are received after January 9, 2017 at 11:59pm ET.

The NIH will perform an initial review of all submissions to ensure they are complete and within the scope of the Challenge competition. Submissions that are incomplete will be administratively disqualified and will not be evaluated by the Technical Evaluation Panel or the Judging Panel.

The NIH and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response/Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority may determine that based on the number of submissions received for Step 1 that less competitive submissions will not be discussed by the Technical Evaluation Panel during the Panel’s meeting.

The “Solver” needs to address the NIH Human Subjects Protections and Inclusion of Women, Children, and Minorities policies in their submissions for Step 1 of this competition.

Members of the Technical Evaluation Panel are not eligible to participate in or contribute to any proposal for Step 2 and Step 3 of the Challenge competition.

Any Solver is eligible for Step 2 of this Challenge competition. For example, if a Step 1 “Solver” is not identified as a semifinalist, he/she may still submit for Step 2 of this competition and those who did not submit a Step 1 proposal may still submit a proposal for Step 2.

All submissions for Step 1, 2, and 3 must be in English.

For further information about eligibility requirements, competition rules, and deadlines for submissions, please consult the Federal Register.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Robert W. Eisinger, Ph.D.,
Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI)
National Institutes of Health
Telephone: 301-496-2229
Email: robert.eisinger@nih.gov