DARPA is seeking innovative proposals to develop systemic drug delivery platforms for medical countermeasures.
Hermes will address the following drug delivery challenges:
(1) developing novel platforms and formulations capable of encapsulating large, complex cargos with limited immunogenicity; and
(2) effective biodistribution to, and expression in, multiple cell and tissue types concurrently.
The Hermes program will produce flexible platforms capable of delivering diverse types of cargo to multiple cell and tissue types to prepare for any biothreat. Next generation delivery platforms developed during the program should offer unprecedented efficiency with minimal toxicity and immunogenicity. Delivery vehicles developed under the Hermes program must be capable of delivering nucleic acid-based cargos intracellularly, but approaches that are also compatible with proteins, small molecules, and/or combinations of these cargos are strongly preferred.
Program Structure
Phase I – Base – 20 months – proof of concept for performer defined therapeutic and/or prophylactic cargo in vivo
Phase II – Option 1 – 10 months – delivery of government-defined medical countermeasure in vivo; Option 2 – small-scale manufacturing for testing and evaluation.
Abstracts (encouraged but not required) are due 3 May 2024, with full proposals due 4 June 2024.
Document
Broad Agency Announcement – Hermes : HR001124S0025
