BLUE KNIGHT™ Resident QuickFire Challenge: Promoting Pivotal Progress

To help BLUE KNIGHT™ residents advance their technologies and potentially reach pivotal commercialization milestones, Johnson & Johnson Innovation together with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) are proud to launch the BLUE KNIGHT™ Resident QuickFire Challenge: Promoting Pivotal Progress. This challenge is the fourth in a series of QuickFire Challenge opportunities for current or alumni Blue Knight residents.

Innovators in the life sciences sector navigating the commercialization journey may encounter obstacles. Establishing partnerships with other early-stage companies may help mitigate some challenges and may help accelerate the development of both technologies, enabling them to be rapidly deployed.

Applicants will have the opportunity to apply to one or both of the following tracks:

This QuickFire Challenge seeks to distribute award funding to a diverse group of Blue Knight residents (current or alumni).

Residents who have received previous QuickFire Challenge awards are eligible to apply with a new proposal or continuation of a previously funded scope of work. Previous awardees must present a compelling case for their proposal for a new scope of work or continuation of a previous scope including a description of what was accomplished with previous round(s) of funding and how this challenge could help take their project to the next level. *

If you’re interested in partnering with a Blue Knight resident on a partner track application, please complete this short form with your company information and partnership goals. Once submitted, your details will be shared with current or alumni Blue Knight residents, who may reach out directly if they see potential synergies between your work and their innovative solutions.

_{*Note: Applicants who have received previous QuickFire Challenge or other Johnson & Johnson funding cannot have the same scope of work funded concurrently by another QuickFire Challenge or Johnson & Johnson collaboration. In other words, if a company is still within their previous QuickFire Challenge award period or within the timeframe of another collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, they may not receive funding for the previously funded scope of work from this QuickFire Challenge. This also applies to funding applicants have received directly from BARDA and other federal funding awards.}

BLUE KNIGHT™ is a joint initiative between Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS (JLABS) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This collaboration is dedicated to anticipating potential health security threats, activating the global innovation community, and amplifying scientific and technological advancements with the aim to prepare for and respond to our rapidly evolving global health environment. Blue Knight supports companies who are working on disruptive scientific technologies to help improve patient health, with a focus on technologies with preparedness and commercial indications to support those that can rapidly pivot to address future known and unknown health threats.

Through initiatives like this QuickFire Challenge, Blue Knight seeks to help propel residents to crucial inflection points in the commercialization process.

While BLUE KNIGHT™ residents may have various disease targets within their pipeline, the potential solution submitted for this QuickFire Challenge must align with Blue Knight strategic areas of focus and the funding awarded must be used for the direct advancement of the potential solution submitted within the QuickFire Challenge application. Potential solutions will be evaluated by a panel comprised of Johnson & Johnson, BARDA, and external experts on their ability to meet the following criteria:

• Potential to accelerate progress towards pivotal commercialization milestones
• Potential solution alignment with Blue Knight strategic areas of interest
• Clarity of plan for use of funds to directly advance potential solution submitted for the QuickFire Challenge within one year (milestones & defined go/no go decisions
• Strength of collaboration outlined, if applicable
• Company profile must be updated within JLABS Navigator, including Blue Knight fields, at least a month before the application deadline (no later than February 7th based on the March 7th application deadline)
• Engagement with the Blue Knight community and adherence to obligations, including attendance of company roundtables, participation in mentorship meetings, maintaining compliance in reporting requirements, etc.

Blue Knight resident (Current or Alumni) applicants applying for the “Partner” track may invite their collaborator company to contribute to their application on the Open Water Platform.

Awards:-

Selected awardees may receive award funding to help accelerate their company’s/companies’ potential solutions to critical inflection points towards commercialization.

Residents may request funds based on the scope of their project for any funding amount up to the maximum amount available per company/per track. The challenge seeks to fund several projects with various scopes, scales, and funding amounts. Intended use of funds will be evaluated as part of the application review.

Limited awards are available, and awardee selection will be based on the criteria outlined above. Applicants for the “Partner” track must be led by a Blue Knight resident, current or alumni. Applicants for the “Sole Contributor” track must be Blue Knight residents. Blue Knight residents may apply for either or both tracks. Each participating company is limited to leading a maximum of two applications (one per track) and can participate in no more than four application submissions.

To accept award funding, awardees must execute the necessary terms and conditions. **

^** _{Subject to terms and conditions of applicable Quickfire Challenge and execution of all relevant and necessary award agreements. Awardees are strongly encouraged to discuss the progress on their QuickFire award project scope during quarterly BARDA mentoring meetings and/or meetings with J&J.}