Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Advance Defense Enabling Network and Clinical Capability (CADENCC)

Agency: Department of the Army

Office: Army Contracting Command, Edgewood Contracting Division

Location: Fort Detrick, MD, USA

Program Office: Capability Program Executive for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (CPE CBRN Defense), Joint Project Lead Enabling Technologies (JPL ET)

RPP Number: W911SR-26-R-CADENCC

Date Issued: 03 September 2026

Proposals Due: 1500 hours, 17 September 2026

1. Through this Request for Project Proposal (RPP), the Capability Program Executive for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense’s (CPE CBRN Defense) Joint Project Lead Enabling Technologies (JPL ET) seeks to develop Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Advance Defense Enabling Network and Clinical Capability (CADENCC), an enabling capability that will accelerate clinical trial startup through implementation of Master Protocols, innovative technologies that support decentralized trial operations and augment data collection and analysis, and establishment of a pre-positioned clinical trial site network enabling CBRN defense readiness as described in the attached Statement of Objectives (SOO).  The Government is hereby requesting formal submission of preproposals to execute a formal agreement under 10 USC 4022, Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for the prototype project described below.

Upon receipt of a preproposal submitted in response to this RPP, the next steps are as follows:  

• The Government will evaluate the preproposal.
• Discussions among the parties, whether verbally or in writing, will occur as appropriate.
• The Government may request a full proposal from the offeror.
• Additional discussions will occur as necessary.
• Award may be made after evaluation and selection of a successful submission.  (Note: Awards are dependent upon the availability of funds.)

2.  This RPP is issued to request project proposals in compliance with USC 4022 and is being issued for planning purposes only.  It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to award an agreement, nor will the Government pay for the information solicited.  

3.  The JPL ET enables the rapid development, manufacture, and fielding of safe and effective medical solutions across the full product spectrum, including development, clinical trials, manufacturing, and validated biological threat detection materials. The objective of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Advance Defense Enabling Network and Clinical Capability (CADENCC) is to develop an enabling capability that will accelerate clinical trial startup through implementation of Master Protocols, innovative technologies that support decentralized trial operations and augment data collection and analysis, and establishment of a pre-positioned clinical trial site network enabling CBRN defense readiness. CADENCC will primarily conduct Phase I/Phase II clinical trials for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and early treatment products which may be under Animal Rule. Any resultant award may be issued as a prototype Agreement under the authority of 10 USC 4022, with the expectation that quantities necessary for production, including fielding and testing new capabilities, may be non-competitively procured from awarded to the successful performer(s) of a prototype project in a follow-on production contract or other transaction agreement.

4.  The Government will review/evaluate the submitted preproposals and if there is Government interest, the Agreements Officer may issue a request for full proposal (RFFP) in response to this RPP.  The Government may award an agreement based on the submission or may require submission of additional details.  The award of Prototype agreements shall be for the development of prototypes that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of personnel of the Department of Defense and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the Department of Defense, or to improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the Armed Forces.  A prototype project can generally be described as a preliminary pilot, test, evaluation, demonstration, or agile development activity used to evaluate the technical or manufacturing feasibility or military utility of a particular technology, process, concept, end item, effect, or other discrete feature.  Only a warranted Agreements Officer may obligate the U.S. Government to the expenditure of funds for awards under this Announcement. 

5.  Evaluation will be performed by CPE-CBRND personnel, other Federal Agency Representatives, or combinations thereof to enable the selection of the best preproposal submission, and/or subsequent full proposal submission. After evaluation and selection, an award will be made to the successful offeror(s).  Subsequent awards depend upon the availability of funds and fulfillment of requirements and priorities determined to exist at the time of award. In some cases, funding priorities may change as certain scientific tasks are addressed and new mission assignments arise. Award may also be dependent upon demonstration by the offeror that they have adequately addressed the requirements.

6.  The U.S. Government does not fund preparation of proposals or support work efforts or tasks that are inferred from discussions with technical project officers.  The Offeror will not be reimbursed for any costs incurred prior to the effective date of the agreement.  There are certain post-employment restrictions on former Federal officers and employees as defined in 18 USC 207 and FAR 3.104-3(d).  If an offeror believes a post-employment restriction or conflict of interest exists, notification should be sent to the Agreements Officer prior to initiating efforts on a full proposal.

7.  The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC 552) provides a statutory basis for public access to official U.S. Government records.  “Records” are defined to include documentation received by the U.S. Government in connection with the transaction of public business. Certain types of information submitted to the Government in a process having the potential for award of an OT may be exempt from disclosure requirements of FOIA for a period of five (5) years from the date the Government receives the information.   The types of information listed above may continue to be exempted, in whole or in part, from disclosure after the expiration of the five (5) year period if it falls within an exemption to the FOIA such as trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential.  It is the Offeror’s responsibility to adequately mark any submitted information in accordance with the FOIA.

8.  The Government is prohibited from soliciting and awarding actions to awardees that have engaged or are suspected to have engaged in criminal, fraudulent, or seriously improper conduct.

9.  Prospective awardees shall complete electronic annual representations and certifications at https://sam.gov.  By submission of an offer, the Offeror acknowledges the requirement that prospective awardees MUST be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to award and through final payment of any contract resulting from this RPP.  Offerors that are not registered should consider applying for registration immediately upon receipt of this solicitation.  To remain registered in the SAM database after the initial registration, the Offeror is required to review and update, on an annual basis from the date of initial registration (or subsequent updates), its information in the SAM database to ensure it is current, accurate and complete.

10.  Data submitted that cannot be disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes, shall be marked appropriately on the title page and/or specific data sheets.

11. Questions regarding this announcement may be submitted by email to hunter.t.robinson4.civ@army.mil AND bianca.g.batista.civ@army.mil AND keith.d.pereira.civ@army.mil prior to 5 business days of the closing date.

12.  The Government may award a follow-on production contract or Other Transaction (OT) for any OT awarded under this RPP if: (1) that participant in the OT, or a recognized successor in interest to the OT, successfully completed the entire prototype project provided for in the OT, as modified; and (2) the OT provides for the award of a follow-on production contract or OT to the participant, or a recognized successor in interest to the OT.  

13.  Proposals, Brochures, or other descriptions of general organizational or individual capabilities will not be accepted as a preproposal.  An email will acknowledge receipt of a proposal.  Generally, the Project Manager of the submitting organization should receive a decision letter or email upon completion of the evaluation and determination.

14.  Administration:  The Government will retain comments and information received in response to this RPP.  Do not use Government security classification markings.  All written responses must be received by the due date.  Submission should be identified with a Subject Line of the Responding Organization and RPP Title.  Material that is advertisement only in nature is not desired. Late submissions will not be considered.

15.  Requirements:  See attached Statement of Objectives (SOO).

16.  Submissions:

Submissions must include sufficient detail to warrant a decision or otherwise will not be considered. Submissions cover page must identify appropriate POC’s in addition to company address and UEI and CAGE codes. If the offeror is not listed in SAM.gov, then the extent of their submission package to SAM should be documented. The page limit is 10 pages. Cover page, ROM, and WBS will not be considered in the total page count. Any supplemental attachments outside of the ROM and WBS will count against the 10 page limit. Any additional pages exceeding 10 pages will not be considered.

Submissions must be delivered by the date and time expressed in announcement or will not be considered.  

17. Evaluation Factors: Proposals received as a result of this RPP will be evaluated. The following factors, with no particular order of importance, gives a representative sample of the factors that may be considered during evaluation:

i. Technical Merit: The proposed plans, methods, techniques, and procedures must be feasible, clear, valid, adequately referenced, and state-of-the-art. The proposed schedule must be reasonable. Literature searches are recommended for documenting the strengths of the proposed project.

ii. Military and Program Relevance: Projects must support the development of medical CBRN countermeasures, to include Countermeasure Prototypes, Special Projects, and Developmental

Initiatives Supporting Medical CBRN Countermeasures and Enabling Technologies. Proposals should address an outstanding requirement and balance or reduce programmatic risk of the current DoW countermeasure development program.

iii. Funds Availability: JPM Medical/JPL ET must have funds available to support the proposed work. JPM Medical/JPL ET funds are for purposes of warfare defense against JCS validated CBRN warfare threats.

iv. Technology Readiness Level (TRL): The technology proposed must meet TRL 4 or above. See the attached for a full description of TRLs (QTRLS).

v. Project Objectives: The stated objectives must be clear, valid and logical. Projects that demonstrate an innovative approach are desired.

vi. Regulatory compliance. The proposal will be evaluated for compliance with FDA guidelines for current cGMP, GLP, and GCP.

vii. Support of other U.S. Government requirements. The proposal will be evaluated for alignment with, and unnecessary duplication of, other DoW requirements and the medical CBRN Medical Countermeasure development efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Department of Homeland Security.

viii. Key Personnel Qualifications: Document the qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed Project Manager and other key personnel in sufficient details to demonstrate that the proposed staff has the knowledge and skills to achieve the proposed objectives.

ix. Facilities: Describe the proposed facilities and equipment, or unique combinations of these, in detail to demonstrate that the organization has, or may access, the necessary facilities required for the accomplishing the proposed objectives.

x. Budget/Cost: The budget must reflect the actual needs of the proposed work and be fully justified so that the U.S. Government can evaluate and determine the cost to be fair and reasonable and commensurate with the complexity and nature of the work proposed.

xi. Best value: Contract award will be made to that Offeror whose proposal offers the best overall value to the Government based on an integrated assessment of the non-cost and cost related factors.

xii. Past Performance: Documented satisfactory performance record. In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance.

18. Selection for Award: Any proposal received may be negotiated. After any evaluation and selection, an award may be made to the successful proposal. Subsequent awards depend upon the availability of funds and fulfillment of requirements and priorities determined to exist at the time of award. In some cases, funding priorities may change as certain scientific tasks are addressed and new mission assignments arise.

19. If an agreement award is made, the Awardee agrees that all obligations entered under this agreement shall be transferrable and assignable to a potential successor awardee as directed by the Agreements Officer. The Awardee shall enter good faith negotiations with any successor awardee and the Agreements Officer to execute a tri-party agreement that transfers, assigns, and/or identifies responsibilities for existing obligations. If, at the completion or termination of this Agreement, the Agreements Officer does not direct the Awardee to transfer or assign obligation(s) to a potential successor awardee, the Awardee shall be liable, responsible, and accountable for closing out and liquidating such obligations, or for taking such other action as the Agreements Officer may direct. The Awardee shall remain liable to the Government and responsible for any unallowable costs which it incurred, or caused to be incurred, in performance of this Agreement, regardless of whether they arise out of, or relate to, any obligations transferred or assigned to the successor awardee or to another entity.