Sources Sought Notice - Risk–Benefit Assessment of Stopping Antibiotics in Rapid Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) Positive Inpatients with Non-Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Overview
Buyer
Place of Performance
NAICS
PSC
Set Aside
Original Source
Timeline
Qualification Details
Fit reasons
- NAICS alignment with historical contract wins in similar service areas.
- Scope strongly matches core technical capabilities and delivery model.
Risks
- Past performance thresholds may require one additional teaming partner.
- Potential clarification needed on staffing minimums before bid/no-bid.
Next steps
Validate eligibility requirements, assign capture owner, and schedule partner outreach to confirm teaming strategy before submission planning.
Quick Summary
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), specifically the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), has issued a Sources Sought Notice to identify qualified businesses, including small businesses, capable of conducting a Risk–Benefit Assessment of Stopping Antibiotics in inpatients with non-severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) who test positive for a respiratory viral pathogen (RVP). This market research aims to determine the appropriate acquisition method, including potential set-asides. Responses are due by April 27, 2026, at 3:00 PM EST.
Scope of Work
The contractor will be required to independently conduct a large-scale, pragmatic randomized controlled trial with the following objectives:
- Compare continuation versus discontinuation of antibacterial therapy in hospitalized patients with non-severe CAP and positive RVP.
- Establish trial sites in at least three geographically distinct health systems.
- Enroll approximately 1000 adult patients (18 and older).
- Develop a clinical framework to identify patients with viral CAP who can safely discontinue antibiotics.
- Evaluate patient outcomes and antibiotic-associated adverse events, with primary outcome being time to clinical stability and secondary outcomes including patient-level safety and 30-day readmissions.
- Conduct subgroup analyses by viral pathogen and patient characteristics.
- Disseminate study findings through peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations.
Contract & Timeline
- Type: Sources Sought / Market Research
- Anticipated Period of Performance: 39 months, non-severable (12-month preparatory, 18-month intervention, 9-month post-intervention data analysis).
- Set-Aside: None specified (market research to determine potential set-asides).
- NAICS Code: 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences).
- Response Due: April 27, 2026, 3:00 PM EST.
- Published: April 17, 2026.
Capability Information Sought
Respondents should demonstrate capabilities including:
- Expertise in large-scale antibiotic stewardship implementation in acute care settings.
- Ability to support multicenter clinical trials, including site commitments, coordination, data collection, safety monitoring, and data analysis.
- Strong plans for recruiting 1000 adult patients with contingency plans.
- Expertise in operationalizing Electronic Health Record (EHR)-based interventions across multiple health systems.
- Capacity for secure data storage and management, including PII and PHI.
- Demonstrated experience in large-scale pragmatic trials utilizing EHR-based interventions and extensive knowledge in antibiotic stewardship research.
- Experience performing multiple tasks in parallel and meeting deliverable timelines.
- Proficiency with federal government public posting requirements, including Section 508 accessibility.
- Expertise in project management for trial conduct, IT-based intervention, data management, and meeting federal requirements (e.g., OMB Paperwork Reduction Act, IRB).
- Experience developing and executing comprehensive management plans.
Submission Instructions
Interested qualified businesses should submit a tailored capability statement electronically to Kori Best (Kori.Best@hhs.gov). The statement should not exceed 15 single-sided pages (12-point font minimum) and must include:
- Staff expertise, availability, experience, and training.
- Current in-house capability and capacity.
- Corporate experience and prior projects of similar size and complexity.
- Participation agreement statements from partner organizations (may exceed page limit).
- List of Government-wide contracting vehicles (e.g., GSA schedule). The cover page must include UEI, organization name, address, size/type of business (pursuant to NAICS 541715), and technical point(s) of contact.
Additional Notes
This is a Sources Sought notice for planning purposes only and is NOT a solicitation. The Government is not obligated to award a contract or pay for information provided. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in responses.