Sources Sought Notice - Risk–benefit Assessment of Stopping Antibiotics in Rapid Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) Positive Inpatients with Non-Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified business sources, including small businesses; (2) whether they are any businesses, including small business; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

Project Description and Requirements:

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of hospitalizations in the U.S. and 80% of patients receive antibacterials. New rapid respiratory viral panels (RVP) are increasingly identifying viral pathogens in patients with CAP. Hospitalized patients with non-severe CAP are more likely to have a viral etiology vs. patients severe CAP. Bacterial co-infection affects only 2-35% of patients with viral CAP, with the non-severe patients at the lower end of this range.

A large majority of patients with viral CAP, especially those with non-severe CAP, receive no benefit from antibiotics and only harm from antibacterial exposure. Most patients (80-95%) who started on antibacterials receive full treatment durations, further exacerbating potential risk for those unnecessarily treated, in addition to the societal risk of increasing antimicrobial resistance.

Unnecessary antibacterial therapy causes harm and contributes to higher hospitalization costs. Up to 20% of hospitalized patients who receive antibacterials suffer an adverse event. Antibacterial use contributes to the public health crisis of antibacterial...