DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY (DHA)
18.A Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program
Proposal Submission Instructions
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) STTR Program seeks small businesses with strong research and development capabilities to pursue and commercialize medical technologies.
The DHA STTR Program harnesses the collective knowledge and experience of scientists and engineers, to identify and put forward research and development (R&D) topics to stimulate a partnership of ideas and technologies between innovative Small Business Concerns (SBCs) and Research Institutions (RIs) through Federally-funded R&D to address DHA needs.
Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), topic, and general questions regarding the STTR Program should be addressed according to the DoD STTR Program BAA. For technical questions about a topic during the pre-release period, contact the Topic Author(s) listed for each topic in the BAA. To obtain answers to technical questions during the formal BAA period, visit (See DoD STTR Program BAA, Section 4.15.)
Specific questions pertaining to the DHA STTR Program should be submitted to the DHA STTR Program Management Office (PMO) at:
E-mail -
Phone - (301) 619-5047
PHASE I PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Follow the instructions in the DoD Program BAA for program requirements and proposal submission instructions at,
STTR Phase I Proposals have four Volumes: Proposal Cover Sheets, Technical Volume, Cost Volume and Company Commercialization Report. The Technical Volume has a 20-page limitincluding: table of contents, references, letters of support, appendices, technical portions of subcontract documents (e.g., statements of work and resumes) and any other attachments. Do not include blank pages, duplicate the electronically generated Cover Sheets or put information normally associated with the Technical Volume in other sections of the proposal as these will count toward the 20-page limit.
The electronically generated Cover Sheet, Cost Volume and Company Commercialization Report (CCR) does not have a page limit. The CCR is generated by the proposal submission website, based on information provided by small businesses through the Company Commercialization Report tool.
Technical Volumes that exceed the 20-page limit will be reviewed only to the last word on the 20th page. Information beyond the 20th page will not be reviewed or considered in evaluating the offeror’s proposal. To the extent that mandatory technical content is not contained in the first 20 pages of the proposal, the evaluator may deem the proposal as non-responsive and score it accordingly.
Companies submitting a Phase I proposal under this BAA must complete the Cost Volume using the on-line form, within a total cost not to exceed $150,000 over a period of up to six months.
The DHA STTR Program will evaluate and select Phase I proposals using the evaluation criteria in Section 6.0 of the DoD STTR Program BAA. Due to limited funding, the DHA STTR Program reserves the right to limit awards under any topic and only proposals considered to be of superior quality will be funded.
Proposals not conforming to the terms of this BAA, and unsolicited proposals, will not be considered. Awards are subject to the availability of funding and successful completion of contract negotiations.
If a small business concern is selected for a STTR award they must negotiate a written agreement between the small business and their selected Research Institution that allocates intellectual property rights and rights to carry out follow-on research, development, or commercialization.Please refer to the DoD Instructions, section 4.2.f to view a “Model Agreement for the Allocation of Rights”.
PHASE II PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Phase II is the demonstration of the technology found feasible in Phase I. All DHA STTR Phase I awardees from this BAA will be allowed to submit a Phase II proposal for evaluation and possible selection. The details on the due date, content, and submission requirements of the Phase II proposal will be provided by the DHA STTR PMO either in the Phase I award or by subsequent notification.
Small businesses submitting a Phase II Proposal must use the DoD STTR electronic proposal submission system ( This site contains step-by-step instructions for the preparation and submission of the Proposal Cover Sheets, the Company Commercialization Report, the Cost Volume, and how to upload the Technical Volume. For general inquiries or problems with proposal electronic submission, contact the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at (1-800-348-0787) or Help Desk email at (9:00 am to 6:00 pm ET).
The DHA STTR Program will evaluate and select Phase II proposals using the evaluation criteria in Section 8.0 of the DoD STTR Program BAA. Due to limited funding, the DHA STTR Program reserves the right to limit awards under any topic and only proposals considered to be of superior quality will be funded.
Small businesses submitting a proposal are required to develop and submit a technology transition and commercialization plan describing feasible approaches for transitioning and/or commercializing the developed technology in their Phase II proposal. DHA STTR Phase II Cost Volumes must contain a budget for the entire 24-month Phase II period not to exceed the maximum dollar amount of $1,000,000. These costs must be submitted using the Cost Volume format (accessible electronically on the DoD submission site), and may be presented side-by-side on a single Cost Volume Sheet. The total proposed amount should be indicated on the Proposal Cover Sheet as the proposed cost.
DHA STTR Phase II Proposals have four Volumes: Proposal Cover Sheets, Technical Volume, Cost Volume and Company Commercialization Report. The Technical Volume has a 40-page limit including: table of contents, pages intentionally left blank, references, letters of support, appendices, technical portions of subcontract documents (e.g., statements of work and resumes) and any attachments. Do not include blank pages, duplicate the electronically generated Cover Sheets or put information normally associated with the Technical Volume in other sections of the proposal as these will count toward the 40-page limit.
Technical Volumes that exceed the 40-page limit will be reviewed only to the last word on the 40th page. Information beyond the 40th page will not be reviewed or considered in evaluating the offeror’s proposal. To the extent that mandatory technical content is not contained in the first 40 pages of the proposal, the evaluator may deem the proposal as non-responsive and score it accordingly.
PHASE II ENHANCEMENTS
The DHA STTR Program has a Phase II Enhancement Program which provides matching STTR funds to expand an existing Phase II contract that attracts investment funds from a DoD Acquisition Program, a non-SBIR/non-STTR government program or private sector investments. Phase II Enhancements allow for an existing DHA STTR Phase II contract to be extended for up to one year per Phase II Enhancement application, and perform additional research and development. Phase II Enhancement matching funds will be provided on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to a maximum $500,000 of STTR funds. All Phase II Enhancement awards are subject to acceptance, review, and selection of candidate projects, are subject to availability of funding, and successful negotiation and award of a Phase II Enhancement contract modification.
DISCRETIONARY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
The DHA STTR Program does not participate in the Discretionary Technical Assistance Program. Contractors should not submit proposals that include Discretionary Technical Assistance.
The DHA STTR Program has a Technical Assistance Advocate (TAA) who provides technical and commercialization assistance to small businesses that have Phase I and Phase II projects.
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN OR ANIMAL SUBJECTS
The DHA STTR Program discourages offerors from proposing to conduct human subject or animal research during Phase I due to the significant lead time required to prepare regulatory documentation and secure approval, which will significantly delay the performance of the Phase I award.
The offeror is expressly forbidden to use or subcontract for the use of laboratory animals in any manner without the express written approval of the US Army Medical Research and Material Command's (USAMRMC) Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO). Written authorization to begin research under the applicable protocol(s) proposed for this award will be issued in the form of an approval letter from the USAMRMC ACURO to the recipient. Furthermore, modifications to already approved protocols require approval by ACURO prior to implementation.
Research under this award involving the use of human subjects, to include the use of human anatomical substances or human data, shall not begin until the USAMRMC’s Office of Research Protections (ORP) provides authorization that the research protocol may precede. Written approval to begin research protocol will be issued from the USAMRMC ORP, under separate notification to the recipient. Written approval from the USAMRMC ORP is also required for any sub-recipient that will use funds from this award to conduct research involving human subjects.
Research involving human subjects shall be conducted in accordance with the protocol submitted to and approved by the USAMRMC ORP. Non-compliance with any provision may result in withholding of funds and or termination of the award.
DHA STTR 18.A Topic Index
DHA18A-001 / Brain Targeting Nanoparticle for Drug Delivery in Traumatic Brain InjuryDHA - 1
DHA STTR 18.A Topic Descriptions
DHA18A-001 / TITLE: Brain Targeting Nanoparticle for Drug Delivery in Traumatic Brain InjuryTECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Biomedical
OBJECTIVE: Develop a brain targeted, blood brain barrier permeable, nanoparticle carrier that will deliver drug molecules to the traumatically injured brain. Demonstrate that the carrier has no, or very low, systemic toxicity and is biodegradable. Investigate and validate the effectiveness of this carrier in delivering drug molecules to injured brain.
DESCRIPTION: There are no clinically proven and FDA-approved pharmacological therapies for the acute treatment of TBI patients aimed at mitigating the damaging neurological effects of the injury. Therapies to treat traumatic brain injury have failed to translate from the bench to the bedside. Poor blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration of drugs poses a substantial hurdle to overcome. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems offer a novel drug delivery platform that will allow successful delivery of drug molecules in a controlled manner (1). Nano-carrier systems (intended for drug delivery) are less than one micron in size and normally between 100- 500 nm. Due to the heterogenic pathophysiology of brain injury, multiple drugs may need to be delivered to the brain in order to stimulate neurogenesis, promote axon regeneration, or enhance neuroplasticity that allows the brain to compensate for the incurred injury.
To meet the objective of this topic, the nanotechnology-based carrier that will facilitate the delivery of a drug to a targeted area of the brain needs to be identified and defined. Examples of materials that can be used as a nano-carrier include carbon, silica oxides, nanocrystals, lipids, polymers, or dendrimers (2). Consideration of active targeting to a cell to achieve greater specificity by the attachment of a targeting ligand to the surface of the nano-carrier may be explored. A detailed analysis of the predicted performance pertaining to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties including, but not limited to selectivity, bioavailability, bio-distribution, half-life, stability and clearance will be included as a deliverable.
This topic asks for an innovative approach to design a nanoparticle carrier that can be administered by intranasal spray. The carrier needs to target brain tissue, the dose should be low enough to avoid systemic toxicity associated with certain drugs, but be able to attain a therapeutic concentration and be maintained for a sufficient duration of time to reach the desired efficacy (3). The formulation should be compatible with an intranasal delivery device which will allow the military medic to administer the drug at the point of injury without complex invasive procedures.
PHASE I: The STTR performer must design a prototype of the nano-carrier formulation that can address the technical challenges on this topic. The effort should clearly analyze and define the properties of material used for developing the nano-carrier. The nano-carrier should be equipped with appropriate “strategies” to overcome the blood brain barrier which is a major obstacle when delivering drugs to the brain. Theoretical evidence will be provided that supports delivery of a drug to the brain, a specific cell type in the brain, or a structure within a brain cell. Phase I deliverables should include EM-pictures of the nanomaterial and drawings in electronic format that would provide a view of all components of the proposed nano-carrier. If an intranasal delivery system is to be used, physiological factors such as rate of nasal secretion, ciliary movement and metabolism should be considered.
PHASE II: The Performer will design and perform pre-clinical in vitro studies to validate pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties of the nano-carrier including, but not limited to selectivity, bioavailability, bio-distribution, half-life, stability and clearance. The Performer will develop, demonstrate, validate, and show feasibility of the nano-carrier in an animal model. There should be evidence that there is clear discrimination between target tissue and non-target tissue. All research involving animals, shall comply with the applicable federal and state laws and agency policy/guidelines for animal protection. Considerations should include material and process documentation, and verifiable data sets on animal samples. The U. S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, Division of Regulated Activities & Compliance (USAMMDA/DRAC) may provide regulatory assistance. The deliverables are the final form of a nano-carrier, which can be made commercially viable, and that can successfully transition to a clinical study. Phase II design, will include refinement of delivery and dosing metrics that can be used to gather efficacy data in a clinical study. The Performer should discuss technical risks of the approach, costs, benefits and plan for development. Phase II will require a detailed plan to test the nano-carrier developed in Phase I in a clinical study. An FDA regulatory plan should be developed during this phase to facilitate regulatory approval when ready. The FDA approval pathway will be outlined and considered at each developmental stage.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Once the product successfully finishes the Phase II, the Performer can seek partnership with a commercial entity or USAMMDA NPH PMO to assist in the advanced development process. Private industry can be sought for the production of prototypes using Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) processes, either by the small business or under license. It is recommended that FDA approval will be obtained for the validation of the nano-carrier delivery platform and tests conducted with it. Additionally, to expand the use of the device to medical diagnosis FDA medical device certification will be pursued. Ideally, the Performer will sponsor the clinical studies necessary to demonstrate selective, targeted delivery to the brain, as well as clinical safety and efficacy. There is a critical need to develop a treatment for TBI. TBI is a predominant cause of injury for soldiers in both combat and non-combat environments with significant implications for long-term health, social and occupational functioning. The civilian market is similarity in need of a treatment for acute TBI.
REFERENCES:
1. Danyang Wang and Lin-PingWu, Nanomaterials for delivery of nucleic acid to the central nervous system (CNS). Materials Science and Engineering C 70 (2017) 1039–1046
2. Martino et al Nano-Medicine Improving the Bioavailability of Small Molecules for the Prevention of Neurodegenerative Diseases. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2017, 23, 1-12
3. Kewal Jain, |Nanomedicine. 2012;7(8):1225-1233.
KEYWORDS: nanomedicine, nanoparticle, TBI, intranasal delivery, intravenous, BBB
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