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March 18, 2024

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The Secret to Connecting with the Government for Funding (and It’s Free)

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By Rosie Foster

Overview

Entrepreneurial researchers facing the "Valley of Death" have options for funding other than Wall Street to fuel their discoveries: new innovation funding programs from the the U.S. government.

The gap between research discoveries in the private sector and their acquisition of funding is known as the “Valley of Death.” Far too often, potential scientific advancements languish because of problems with attracting investments for development. The good news for entrepreneurs is they should consider support from the U.S. government to advance their innovations.

Biomedical Advanced R&D Authority (BARDA) and Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) are two agencies entrepreneurs can directly access to share their promising ideas and apply for financial support. Rick Bright, PhD, CEO of Bright Global Health, recently shared his insights on navigating this entrepreneurial ecosystem, drawing on his experience as a former BARDA Director and CEO of the Rockefeller Foundation Pandemic Preparedness Institute.

Will it take what seems like a millennium to get your funding? Do you need to engage a high-paid consultant to move your idea forward? Do you have to know someone to get your foot in the door? The answer to all of these questions, according to Bright, is “no.” Here’s what Bright, who is on Cure’s Advisory Board, had to say.

Why was BARDA created?

BARDA was created shortly after 9/11 as a national health security measure. We initially focused on threats that could have a significant impact on lives in the United States, from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare. To prepare our nation for these types of threats, we needed an organization to bridge the Valley of Death between the government and the private sector. In the 10 years that I was at BARDA, we figured out a system to get 60 new vaccine drugs and diagnostics approved by the FDA. No other company or entity on the planet has that track record.

Tell us about BARDA DRIVe.

I asked many companies, “Why aren't you applying for BARDA funding?” The answer I heard was that they could not afford it. It was taking reams of notebooks and papers to submit a proposal to BARDA. The cost to a small company to submit this paperwork was $1,000,000. All of the innovation I encountered when I met entrepreneurs at meetings around the world was not getting through the doors of government.

We knew we needed to change our model. We were not addressing many of the challenges we needed to address because the solutions to many big problems were happening in garages across America with innovation entrepreneurs. It was very expensive. It was not inclusive. We were not getting small businesses, minority-led businesses and women-led businesses, and as a result, we were not getting the solutions that the world needed. So we started a division in BARDA called DRIVe, which stands for Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures. DRIVe funds early-stage companies for lifesaving innovation.

How did DRIVe change the process of obtaining government funding through BARDA?

Entrepreneurs had been delivering boxes of papers along with flash drives. I changed the application to a 2,000-word abstract. I changed the process through which our contracting officers met with the lawyers for small entrepreneurs. I also changed the cap. It’s no longer asking for $300 million but a cap of $749,000 to get your idea into the government.

We created metrics for small, women-owned, minority-owned and managed businesses. I set requirements for skin in the game. Every entrepreneur that came into BARDA through the DRIVe program had to bring 30 percent of the proposal cost with them. They had to put forward their ideas, technology, space, partnerships and relationships. A lot of small companies and entrepreneurs had undervalued their ideas and mentality. I helped them put a value on their mindset and bring it into the government proposal.

We also sped up the process. Moving at the speed of government is not the same as moving at the speed of innovation. It used to take a year or two to get a contract awarded, but with BARDA DRIVe, it now often takes just 30 days.

Can you explain what ARPA-H is and how it is advancing healthcare innovation?

What I initially started was too big for the government to swallow in one bite. So, I started a program in 2018 now called ARPA-H: Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. We didn't really have a BARDA division for health, for cancer, for Alzheimer's, for rare diseases and so forth. That’s why we created ARPA-H.

ARPA-H is looking at every possible way to break the mold of the bureaucratic process of government moving too slowly to match innovation. ARPA-H is all about innovation. It's less about developing a specific drug or vaccine and more about achieving systemic change in the healthcare system.

Where can entrepreneurs start to connect with BARDA for funding?

Many companies pay millions of dollars to hire consultants whose job is to get them government funding. But those consultants will often take you to a place you can get to on your own: BARDA’s TechWatch, formerly called CoronaWatch when the pandemic started.

And it doesn't cost you a dime. The website lets you schedule a TechWatch meeting and start the process. Don't send your consultant or company advisor. Go to it yourself, and in that meeting, you can share your idea at any stage with all these government agencies that want nothing more than to learn about your innovation.

These meetings are a forum for feedback about your technology, how it addresses a government need, which agency is better for you to seek funding from at that stage of your development, and so forth. They'll let you know if you should write a grant for the NIH, the Department of Defense or another agency, for example.

You'll also start an educational process with a government scientist who will decide on your funding, your regulatory pathway and the eventual approval of your technology if it's in the healthcare space.

Anytime you see a solicitation from the government, go to TechWatch and educate them about what you're developing. Watch for those announcements. That's the government telling you we need a solution. It's an open invitation to small companies, entrepreneurs and inventors to meet with the government to say, “I have your solution. Look what we're developing.” That is your main entry through the doorway for government funding. You don't have to spend millions to get to the government.

We need to get the government to move at the speed of innovation, which is what these new programs are all about.

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