DARPA’s Biostasis program aims to prevent death following traumatic injury by slowing biochemical reactions inside cells, thus extending the “golden hour” for medical intervention. The desired interventions would be effective for only a limited duration before the process reverts and biological processes resume at normal speeds. Credit: DARPA, adapted.

The Biological Technologies Office (BTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a Webinar, on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, at 12:30 PM ET, in support of the anticipated Biostasis Broad Agency Announcement (BAA).

DARPA plans to solicit innovative proposals to develop novel technology that will reversibly slow down and/or pause biological processes and protect the functional integrity of the biological system that has been slowed or paused without the use of temperature manipulation.

Biostasis aims to provide a new capability to military and civilian health operations as an alternative to traditional responses to trauma and acute infection, and can also be applied to logistical issues related to the transport and use of biological reagents and therapeutics that rely on cold chain.

Slowing the overall reaction rates of biochemical processes by lowering temperature is routinely applied via cryopreservation for simple systems (e.g., cell line preservation), but is impractical for use on more complex multicellular tissues. Rather, DARPA seeks to establish new capabilities for preserving biological viability without relying on temperature manipulation.

The successful products of the Biostasis program represent a new class of medical interventions and countermeasures and will enable a significant paradigm shift in the treatment of the injured warfighter.

This event will provide critical information on the program vision, program objectives, and opportunities associated with the development of an interdisciplinary proposal to respond to the BAA.

Participants must register to attend the Biostasis Webinar through the registration website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/BiostasisProposersDay.

Advance registration is required for every individual intending to view the Webinar, regardless of whether said individuals will be watching the webcast as a group. The Webinar URL will be provided once participants have registered. Webinar registration is limited to 500 remote participants. There is no fee for the Webinar. The Webinar will cover technical and cost proposal instructions.

Registration Deadline: Friday, March 16, 2018 at 12:00 PM ET or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

Source: DARPA, FBO.gov, adapted by Global Biodefense.