Overview of Solicitation
The upcoming 2026 Omnibus Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). NIAID’s mission centers on understanding, treating, and preventing infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. Through this BAA (HHS-NIH-NIAID-BAA2025-1), NIAID seeks proposals to advance the research and development of innovative candidate therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics for antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) pathogens and viruses with pandemic potential. This solicitation is broken down into two key research areas.
Key Research Areas
Research Area 1: Development of therapeutics, vaccines, and in vitro diagnostics targeting AMR bacterial and fungal pathogens. Specific objectives include:
- Topic A: Developing therapeutic products against severe and/or antibiotic-resistant infections of common bacterial or fungal pathogens, like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Candida auris, and Aspergillus fumigatus. This Topic will be supported through lead optimization, pre-clinical Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling research, and lead candidates with demonstrated therapeutic activities may be eligible for additional support.
- Topic B: Advancing vaccine candidates for ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) AMR bacterial pathogens. This Topic will be supported similarly to Topic A.
- Topic C: Creating in vitro diagnostic platforms to identify fungal infections and assess antifungal resistance. The diagnostic system must be able to identify at least one (preferably multiple) of the following agents and associated AMR markers:
- Candida
- Aspergillus fumigatus
- Coccidioides
- Mucorales
The estimated funding for Research Area 1 is $8.5 million, with a performance period of up to five years. One to two awards may be issued for this Research Area.
Research Area 2: Develop direct-acting antivirals (DAA), build sustainable targeted drug discovery platforms, and create a robust pipeline of drug candidates against viral families with pandemic potential. Proposals must focus on antivirals that meet all of the following criteria:
- Direct modification of viral target function (not dependent on the host response)
- Reduce viral burden in early disease stages
- Act against viruses of pandemic potential, such as Flaviviridae, Coronaviridae, or Bunyaviridae, among others (though the proposed products may also have secondary activity against other pathogens)
- Are new chemical entities limited to small molecules and nanobody conjugates/fusion products
- Have safety profiles and suitable administration routes for broad outpatient use
This Research Area will support lead optimization, pre-clinical IND enabling research, and/pr Phase I clinical trials. The estimated funding for Research Area 2 is $20 million, with a performance period of up to five years. Three to four awards are expected to be made in this Research Area.
Important Dates
The full BAA will be available electronically on or about November 22, 2024.
Proposals for this BAA will include separate detailed technical and business proposals designed to meet the Technical Objectives described for each Research Area and/or Topic proposed in the BAA. A Statement of Work (SOW), including the specific technical requirements and performance specifications, will also be part of the proposal submission package.
If your company has considered applying for NIAID funding, your federal funding journey starts here.
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