REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALS – Far Forward Biological Sequencing (Increment 2) for JPEO CBRND; Automated Sample Prep

REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALS – Far Forward Biological Sequencing (Increment 2) for JPEO CBRND; Automated Sample Prep

UPDATE 12/3/2025 (regarding Requested cost/price estimate):

See below bolded and underlined item number 8, with additional clarification on requested cost and price information.

UPDATE 12/1/2025 (regarding PSPEC):

The P-Spec for this effort is marked CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) and has been attached to this posting with restricted access.  Please use SAM.gov to request access to the CUI P-Spec document from the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer.  Please include in your request a company POC name and email address, company name/address and CAGE Code and confirmation that you have completed a NIST SP 800-171 DoD Self-Assessment in PIEE-SPRS in accordance with DFARS 252.204-7012, DFARS 252.204-7019, and DFARS 252.204-7020.  In order to release the CUI P-Spec, the Contracting team will verify the SPRS NIST SP 800-171 Self-Assessment has been completed in PIEE-SPRS and that the company has a current SAM.gov registration with no active exclusions. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The CUI P-Spec will only be released if both above requirements are met.  If you do not meet these requirements, you can submit your company information (via email to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer) to be vetted by the Program Office (Controlling Office) security team. However, this vetting process will likely not be completed in enough time to allow your company to receive the CUI P-Spec prior to the Pre-Proposal due date.  Based on this, if you are not able to complete the process outlined above (completion of NIST SP 800-171 Self-Assessment in PIEE-SPRS and current SAM.gov registration with no active exclusions) and you still wish to respond to this Pre-Proposal Request, the Government recommends that you submit your request to be vetted by the controlling office to the Contracting POCs in this announcement but ALSO complete the Pre-Proposal submission to the best of your ability (without access to the CUI P-Spec) and submit it to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer prior to the Pre-Proposal due date to ensure your Pre-Proposal can still be considered by the Government team.

Please submit all responses directly to the Points of Contact (POCs) identified in this announcement. Do not send to the BOTAA Group Mailbox*

GENERAL INFORMATION

Document Type: Request for Pre-Proposals

NAICS Code:            

541714 Research and Development in Biotechnology (excluding Nanobiotechnology)

Product Service Code (PSC): AC15 National Defense R&D SVCS; Department of Defense -    Military; R&D Facilities & Maj Equip

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS

US Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Division

 8456 Brigade Street, E4215 APG, MD 21010

This requirement will be handled through the procedures established in the Broad Other Transaction Authority Announcement (BOTAA) Supporting Other Transaction Authority Agreements for Prototype Development Efforts for the JPEO CBRND – Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (“JPEO-CBRND CWMD BOTAA-24-01”)

Please review the BOTAA announcement and submission requirements in full prior to submitting a Pre-Proposal.  Ensure that your submission references “Far-Forward Biological Sequencing (FFBS) Increment 2 Automated Sample Prep”

Interested / capable parties are encouraged to submit Pre-proposals through BOTAA NLT 1630 EST, Monday, 8 December 2025

1. Objective:

The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) is posting this Request for Pre-Proposals. The objective of this request is to seek vendors that can produce a system capable of identifying innumerable Biological Warfare Agents (BWAs), limited only by a bioinformatics database loaded onto the system which can be tailored to meet mission requirements. The program schedule requires a short prototype development period to meet a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of seven (7) or better within 24 months or less.  

The FFBS Increment 2 prototype will be a system comprised of the following elements: an automated sample and library preparation device compatible with the nanopore sequencing device and a custom computing element, which may be provided as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), and bioinformatics software. The system shall be operable in far-forward field environments by non-laboratory trained users, in as few steps as possible, while wearing mission-oriented protective posture level 4 gear. Detailed metrics for success are further defined in the performance specification (PSpec). The USG provided equipment (if applicable) and PSpec represent the minimum viable product or the standard starting point. Vendors may propose solutions that integrate with the existing increment 1 console or provide unique designs, provided there is no degradation to the system’s ability to meet the requirements. Vendor developed hardware or software accompanied by a robust data package demonstrating system performance in a field representative environment will be prioritized. 

The FFBS program received a favorable Materiel Development Decision in March 2024 and anticipates a favorable Increment 2 Milestone A Decision in March 2026. The current objective is to award an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for successful development of a prototype FFBS Increment 2 system during the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase followed by an option for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase. Requirements include TMRR and optional EMD development, testing, program and logistics support, and delivery of technical data (end-item products, software, and logistics). 

Each respondent to this request for which paper submissions is encouraged to review the capabilities identified herein and provide feedback indicating if their capability can fully meet, partially meet, or cannot currently meet the requirements. If the respondent’s capabilities cannot currently meet the requirements identified herein but have the potential to meet these requirements in the future, the respondent should indicate the current TRL of the capability and a timeline for meeting these requirements at a TRL of 7 or above. Along with responses to the questions required below in Section 4, each product submission should include the following: (1) Proposed Capability Description; (2) Current technology readiness level, (3) and how each requirement identified in Section 3.1 and 3.2 can be met now or could be met in the future. Please also provide any supporting technical data, product sheets, or website links if available and (4) Comments relating to section 4: Additional Information Requested (below).

2. Background:

Currently fielded and projected handheld biological identifiers are limited to only identifying a few select BWAs and with no ability to identify unknown, emerging, or engineered biological threats. As a result, far-forward warfighters must risk being unknowingly exposed to BWAs or remain in their Chemical Biological Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), resulting in increased physiological burden and impacts on mission effectiveness. The Department of Defense, under multiple Defense Threat Reduction Agency-sponsored projects, has developed current industry technologies to address this known gap. The FFBS program will leverage a technology transition agreement for the automated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) sample and library preparation protocols that have been developed. Additionally, the transition agreement will leverage advanced bioinformatics software for agnostic threat detection to increase the capability from FFBS Increment 1.

3. Required Capabilities:

The contractor will be expected to meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and the Performance Specification (P-Spec) and shall discuss its ability to attain those objectives and/or thresholds in its pre-proposal response in order to give the evaluation team a clear understanding of your intent to fulfill this requirement. Priority attributes that should be addressed in Pre-Proposals are listed in this section.

3.1 Sequencing System Attributes:

The following capabilities are being sought for the FFBS Increment 2 system, in the smallest and lightest form factor:

1. The FFBS shall identify Gram-positive bacterial spores, Gram-positive vegetative bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacteria, acid fast bacteria, toxin-producing bacteria, and DNA viruses of military interest within 60 minutes or less of initial sampling from a high biomass, low complexity source.
2. The FFBS shall identify RNA viruses of military interest within 120 minutes or less of initial sampling from a high biomass, low complexity clarified culture media.
3. FFBS system shall be powered from an internal battery for at least 180 minutes of continuous operation.
4. The sequencing and analysis device shall fit in a standard sized rucksack compartment, chemical protection overgarment pocket, or be able to be strapped on the operator’s rucksack or plate carrier.

3.2 Sampling Capability Attributes:

The following capabilities are being sought for automated sample preparation, in the smallest and lightest form factor:

1. After the sample has been collected, the sample and library preparation process shall be automated.
2. The DNA sample and library preparation process shall take no more than 25 minutes to complete and the RNA sample and library preparation process shall take no more than 45 minutes to complete.
3. The automated sample and library preparation subsystem shall yield samples ready for loading and sequencing on the ONT Mk1D flow cell and sequencer.

4. Additional Information Requested:

As part of their pre-proposal submission, respondents are requested to provide the following information and responses to the below questions:

1. The respondent’s name, address, point of contact, email, telephone number, DUNS/CAGE/Unique Entity ID information, and business size (small or large).
2. Is your company able to produce or provide a capability meeting or partially meeting the specification listed in the draft requirements above? If so, can such items satisfy the Government’s requirements "as is" or only after modification? Please provide any photographs, product information, plans for modifications and other test data that is available for consideration.
3. Identify any partners and/or subcontractors (to include small businesses) that may be utilized to complete an effort of this degree, including a brief explanation of the capabilities they bring to your team. If small businesses are included, please indicate the percentage of the work that will be performed by small business.
4. If you currently produce this product, who is your customer base, and what are average number of units currently produced?
5. Provide size and weight for measurements of the sequencing device or the sampling kit or both.
6. Address and describe any consumable items, if any, that will be required to utilize the sequencing device or sample preparation capability. Address any storage requirements and shelf-life issues.
7. Where is or will the devices and associated consumable items be manufactured? Would you utilize partners/subcontractors to produce these items? Do you foresee any supply chain issues with a product of this type?
8. Provide the following information to inform the government of your best estimates of the following: (1) Total price for the TMRR phase (firm requirement); (2) Total price for the EMD phase (option items); (3) estimated cost per unit. Also, provide a description of the system/technology scalability if applicable. 
9. List any Intellectual Property rights retained for the system and components.
10. Briefly identify your company’s process for receiving, processing, and accounting for government furnished property (if applicable).