Request for Project Proposal (RPP): BEACON Program - Medical Countermeasure (MCM) Candidate Integration and Subcontractor Management

The Department of the Army, through the Army Contracting Command, Edgewood Contracting Division, is issuing a Request for Project Pre-Proposal (RPP) under the BEACON Program to identify a single contractor capable of providing expert program management and subcontract administration for the acceleration of medical countermeasure (MCM) candidates against chemical threats. This effort, conducted under Other Transaction Authority (10 U.S.C. § 4022), seeks a contractor to manage the rapid award and oversight of subcontracts to conduct non-clinical, clinical, and Chemical, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) testing on Government-identified MCM candidates, while ensuring full compliance with FDA Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), and animal welfare regulations enforced by ACURO and ORRC. The contractor will be responsible for procuring all necessary test agents, animals, and materials; maintaining a comprehensive regulatory strategy for FDA approval; defining quantitative metrics to evaluate restoration of Warfighter-relevant functions such as motor and cognitive performance; and delivering a suite of technical and administrative outputs including study protocols, regulatory strategy documents, IND applications, data management plans, quarterly reports, and a final program summary report. The anticipated period of performance is a five-year timeframe, with primary performance occurring at the contractor’s facilities and numerous subcontractor sites, centered in Frederick, Maryland. Proposals must be submitted by June 15, 2026, at 4:00 PM ET, limited to 14 pages excluding cover page, Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM), and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The ROM must be based on assumptions of managing five MCM candidates annually, with one to four tests per candidate, focused on early pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies. Offerors are required to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to award and must maintain registration through final payment, providing UEI and CAGE codes on the submission cover page along with designated points of contact. Evaluation will emphasize the technical approach—including feasibility of program and subcontract management—and past performance in drug development and subcontractor oversight, assessed by CPE-CBRND personnel and other federal representatives under the criteria of CBRND-BAA-22-01. The Government retains full audit and inspection rights at all awardee and subcontractor facilities, including observation of critical experiments and access to all data systems. Key personnel cannot be substituted without written approval, and all subcontractors must