Protean

Background
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), through its Biological Technologies Office (BTO), is issuing a Research Announcement (RA) for a funding opportunity titled 'Protean'. This initiative aims to solicit innovative proposals focused on developing medical countermeasures (MCMs) that can restore protein function in response to chemical threat agents. The overarching goal is to enhance protection against chemical threats on the battlefield, moving beyond traditional reliance on physical barriers and symptom management.

Grant Details
The Protean program seeks to identify novel ways to restore protein function affected by chemical agents. Proposals must include:
1) An approach for discovering novel regulatory points for selected protein targets;
2) Methods for characterizing the mechanism of chemical intoxication for at least one class of threats;
3) Methods for evaluating contributions of specific protein conformations or dynamic events to protein function;
4) A pipeline for optimizing chemical matter to achieve efficacy metrics in vivo.

Excluded are strategies focused solely on competitive inhibitors, detoxifying enzymes, genetic engineering interventions, incremental improvements to existing MCMs, and molecular design strategies lacking mechanistic insight. The program is structured into two phases over 33 months: Phase 1 focuses on identifying intervention points and Phase 2 emphasizes countermeasure design and optimization.

Eligibility Requirements
Proposers must demonstrate technical capability and experience relevant to the goals of the Protean program. They must also affirm that no personnel involved are concurrently providing support services to DARPA as Systems Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA) or similar roles. Proposals must comply with all requirements outlined in this solicitation.

Period of Performance
The total period of performance for the Protean program is 33 months, divided into two phases: Phase 1 lasts 18 months and Phase 2 lasts 15 months.

Grant Value
DARPA anticipates multiple awards under this announcement, with the total value depending on the quality of proposals received and available funding. Specific funding amounts for individual awards have not been disclosed.

Place of Performance
The geographic location(s) where the grant will be performed have not been specified in the announcement.