Commerce
Business Daily Announcement
Focused Program Competition 97-07
Tissue Engineering
REQUEST
FOR PROPOSALS
AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
REQUEST FOR
PROPOSALS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: The NIST
Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is soliciting
proposals under its focused program competition 97-07, Tissue Engineering,
and announces a public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for all interested
parties. This notice provides general information for this focused program
competition 97-07.
An estimated $12
million in first-year ATP funding is available under this focused program
competition. The ATP reserves the right to utilize for this competition
more or less funding than the amount stated above. The actual number of
proposals funded will depend on the quality of the proposals received
and the amount of funding requested in the highest ranked proposals. Outyear
funding is contingent on the approval of future Congressional appropriations
and satisfactory project performance.
This is the first
year of three competitions planned for this ATP focused program. Award
recipients will be required to share non-proprietary information at workshops
to be held throughout the duration of the project. The ATP operates under
program procedures published as Part 295, Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations.
The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit dated November 1996 (containing proposal
cover sheets, other required forms, background material, and instructions
for submission of proposals) and the 97-07 focused
program booklet (containing a paper describing the scope of this focused
program) may be obtained by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND); fax: 301-926-9524
or 301-590-3053; e-mail: atp@nist.gov;
or letter at the address shown below. Note that those individuals whose
names are currently on the ATP mailing list should have already received
the new November 1996 version of the ATP Proposal Preparation Kit. The
97-07 focused program booklet is available on
our World Wide Web site (http://www.atp.nist.gov)
and printed copies are available upon request from ATP.
Only FULL
proposals are being solicited under this focused program competition 97-07.
Abbreviated proposals (pre-proposals) WILL NOT be accepted. Proposals
submitted by facsimile or electronic mail WILL NOT be accepted. If a proposer's
proposal is judged to be of high enough quality to be invited in for an
oral review, ATP reserves the right to submit a list of questions to the
proposer that must be addressed at the oral review.
The due date
for submission of full proposals is 3 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday,
June 11, 1997. Should the NIST facility be closed on the specified
due date. ATP proposals will be due at 3 p.m. Eastern time on the next
business day that the NIST facility is open. Proposals received after
this deadline WILL NOT be considered. Send proposals to:
The goal of the Tissue
Engineering Focused Program is to promote U.S. economic growth by focusing
on the development of a tissue engineering industry that would have global
preeminence and thus provide jobs, result in high market revenues and
significantly reduce the total national healthcare costs which now exceeds
$1 trillion annually. Furthermore, development of new treatment modalities
with the use of tissue engineered devices will have significant societal
benefits by improving the quality of life for the physically and mentally
afflicted population. The acute and chronic shortage of donor tissues
and organs, will make these devices life-saving in many instances.
To be in
scope, business plans of proposals must contribute to the overall goal
of reducing direct hospital and medical costs as well as those costs associated
with the long-term care of the ill or disabled. Technical plans
must address one or more aspects of the design and development of tissue
engineered devices for diagnostic and/or therapeutic use including A)
biomaterials, B) cellular components, C) manufacturing processes, and
D) implantation/transplantation technologies. A)
In the area of biomaterials, proposals are sought that
address innovations with respect to scaffolding materials to promote cell
growth or, when implanted without cells, evoke specific cellular responses
in the host. These materials may be synthetic, naturally derived or hybrids
of such, and should have evidence of biocompatibility. In order to achieve
the desired physical and chemical features, these materials may be used
individually or in composites. Biocompatible materials also are sought
that either coat implantable structures or encapsulate living cells or
groups of cells for transplantation. For coating purposes, biomaterials
that prevent adhesion of circulating proteins on the implants are needed.
Technologies that would provide more cost effective sources of biomaterials
from novel sources such as genetically altered plants or animals also
would fit within the biomaterials scope. B) In the realm
of cellular components, proposals are solicited that
describe technological advances in proliferation of stem and differentiated
cells for use in replacement or genetic therapies. The retention of the
desired genotypic and phenotypic expressions through many passages is
of particular importance. Proposed technologies that would lead to optimization
of target-determined biological and physical properties of cells either
through genetic or environmental manipulation also are within scope of
this solicitation. C) Since tissue engineered products
need be available to large patient populations at reasonable costs, technologies
are sought that will result in improved manufacturing processes.
Innovative methods to enhance automation and scale-up of bioreactors for
cell growth without compromising cellular integrity are sought. To ensure
uniformity of products and retention of functionality through multiple
in vitro manipulations, proposed technologies may address improved
manufacturing processes for use of biomaterials as encapsulating agents
or use as scaffolds as well as better sterilization, storage and transport
methods for tissue engineered products, including diagnostic tools and
transplantable composites. D) To ensure that tissue engineered
devices can be diffused broadly in a multitude of different environments,
creative solutions are sought to advance transplantation/implantation
technologies. Thus, enabling technologies are needed that aid
in the design of easily available devices and cost-effective tests to
monitor transplantation/implantation procedures and subsequent functional/structural
integration by the host system.
A public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for potential proposers and other
interested parties under this focused program competition 97-07 will be
held on Monday, March 17, 1997, at the Holiday Inn, 2 Montgomery Village
Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD. The conference will begin at 9:30
a.m. Eastern time and end at approximately 3 p.m. and will provide general
information regarding the ATP, hints on preparing good proposals (covering
the same material presented at previous ATP Proposers' Conferences), and
will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions on the scope
and technical and business goals of the focused program. Attendance at
this public meeting is not required. No registration fee will be charged
To register for this public meeting or for further information, contact
ATP, by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND; fax: 301-926-9524 or 301-590-3053; or e-mail:
atp@nist.gov.
Date created: February
12, 1997
Last updated:
April 12, 2005
|
