DRIVe is seeking information from industry incubators operated or associated with a pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology companies to help establish DRIVe’s new Fuel Laboratories. DRIVe Fuel is an ambitious new novel public private partnership designed to partner with established industry incubators to transform health security by jointly investing in disruptive health security innovation.

The release of Request for Information (RFI) on August 14, 2018 is for informational purposes only. DRIVe is seeking insight into industry incubators across the country that have laboratory space, resources, networks and capabilities that could advance promising innovations to commercialization. DRIVe is particularly interested in learning about incubators that collaborate closely with or are operated pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology companies. Specifically, the incubators should be already operational, provide shared laboratory space, shared laboratory equipment, entrepreneurial programming and have a track record of advancing startup medical products and technologies. They should also have experience in non-dilutive and non-equity incubator support that allows startups to retain full ownership and control of their company and maintain all rights to intellectual property.

DRIVe intends to use responses to this RFI for planning purposes only toward the possible establishment of public private partnerships with pharmaceutical, biotechnology or medical technology industry incubators.

To view the full RFI and instructions about the information required, please visit the post on fbo.gov. You can also download the response form here. Please be sure to download the form, rather than simply completing it in a browser. Respondents must furnish submissions by email to DRIVeContracting@hhs.gov, with the subject line ‘DRIVe Fuel Incubator RFI’, for receipt by 5:00 PM EDT, September 14, 2018.

DRIVe was established in June 2018 by BARDA to spur research and innovation and help build a more robust pipeline of transformative health security products and technologies to protect Americans from 21st century health security threats.

Tyler Merkeley has been appointed Interim Director of BARDA's new Division of Research, Innovation and Ventures (DRIVe). This Division will adopt a bold new approach to partnering in order to accelerate life-saving innovation in medical products and technologies that promise to transform health security. Launched in June 2018, DRIVe is a new division of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).

"Tyler is stepping into DRIVe's leadership role at a critical time as we start investing in ambitious new approaches to identify and advance innovative products and technologies to empower people, save lives and protect Americans" said Rick Bright, Ph.D., Director of BARDA. "His experience in building innovative programs makes him well positioned to shape DRIVe's distinctive culture and develop the team, and lay a solid foundation for future success".

Merkeley has played a central role in designing and launching DRIVe, as well as other innovative programs within BARDA such as CARB-X, an international public private partnership focused on combating antibiotic resistant bacteria with over $500M committed from funders. He served as BARDA's CARB-X Program Director prior to taking on the DRIVe leadership role.

"DRIVe is all about new approaches to identify and mobilize disruptive innovation through the formation of novel partnerships. We are building an amazing DRIVe team of restless innovators within the government and across our DRIVe partners, to identify, invest in, and accelerate development of products that will enhance health security." Merkeley said.

Merkeley's appointment is effective immediately while a nation-wide search has begun for a permanent Director of DRIVe. In addition he will serve on the Joint Oversight Committee for CARB-X.

Merkeley joined BARDA in 2009 as a Health Scientist to accelerate the advanced research and development, procurement, stockpile and sustainment of medical countermeasures (MCM) against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents under Project BioShield. At BARDA, he has led the smallpox antiviral procurement, managed BARDA's first agreement using Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and has served as the Acting Chief of Staff for BARDA. Tyler received his Masters of Science in Biohazard Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases from Georgetown University and his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and International Business from Iona College in New York.