Provision of Bordetella-Free Baboons for Pertussis Infection and Vaccination Studies

The Food and Drug Administration is seeking the provision of twenty Bordetella-free baboons to support critical research into pertussis, a highly contagious and potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. Current vaccines have failed to fully control the spread of the disease, and the underlying reasons for this failure remain poorly understood. The FDA’s existing baboon model is the only one that accurately mirrors human pertussis, and this study aims to refine it by establishing infection through natural transmission—enabling direct comparison between acellular and whole cell vaccines in their ability to prevent infection and transmission. The research is designed to fill critical knowledge gaps in vaccine-mediated protection and inform future public health strategies. The contract, titled Provision of Bordetella-Free Baboons for Pertussis Infection and Vaccination Studies, is solicited under number 75F40126Q00204 with a response deadline of July 10, 2026. It is a combined solicitation with no set-asides and falls under NAICS code 112990. The contracting office is based in Rockville, Maryland, under the Department of Health and Human Services, with performance taking place in Silver Spring, Maryland. Primary contact for inquiries is David Kramer, with Nick Sartain as secondary point of contact. All baboons must be delivered in a Bordetella-free condition to ensure experimental integrity and reproducibility of results.