B-SAURUS

Intelligence Value

The Biomaterial Structural Analyses for Use Recognition and Understanding Synthesis (B-SAURUS) program will enhance the Intelligence Community’s (IC’s) capability to secure supply chains, identify counterfeits, and combat illegal activities associated with illicit narcotics. B-SAURUS will establish new reverse engineering capabilities to address materials aligned with national security including energetics, illicit substances, and pharmaceuticals.

Summary

Emerging biotechnologies, particularly biomanufacturing, have the potential to disrupt or establish completely new supply chains for materials and molecules critical to US national security, including energetics, illicit or controlled substances, and pharmaceuticals. In some instances, these biomanufactured materials and molecules (BMMs) may utilize stolen intellectual property, originate from prohibited sources, or facilitate illegal activities. The IC must validate the origins and associated supply chains of these critical BMMs to prevent new vulnerabilities to US security interests. B-SAURUS will augment the IC’s ability to identify and characterize BMMs relevant to national security while extracting information related to critical supply chains, methods of biomanufacturing, technical capabilities, and equipment requirements. 

B-SAURUS will develop processes and protocols to identify unique features that distinguish a BMM from those produced through conventional manufacturing processes, using these insights to better understand their production methods. Research teams will leverage advances in analytical instrumentation, synthetic biology, biomanufacturing, and data analytics (to include machine learning/artificial intelligence) to drive development of these revolutionary capabilities. The program aims to establish robust capabilities for reverse engineering BMMs now and in the future, focusing on adaptive methodologies rather than databases or “fingerprints” whose utility may fade as biomanufacturing processes proliferate. 

The B-SAURUS program is expected to be a multi-performer, 18-month initiative in three phases; demonstrating feasibility, establishing capabilities against precursor BMMs, and demonstrating capabilities with formulated targets. The program aims to deliver protocols, molecular signatures and feature lists, and predictive software tools for BMM analysis to the IC to support national security interests. 

The B-SAURUS program is being pursued in collaboration with DEVCOM Aviation and Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC) via their Other Transaction Authority (OTA) ecosystem – Aviation Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC, The Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium).

Collaborative efforts and teaming among Offerors are highly encouraged. It is anticipated that teams will be multidisciplinary and should include expertise aligned with the research challenges associated with the program. While current AMTC members are encouraged to use resources within the ecosystem, IARPA is also establishing a mechanism here to help non-members find potential team partners.

Important Considerations:

1. Government Endorsement Disclaimer: The U.S. Government does not approve or endorse any specific industry teaming arrangements formed as a result of this webpage. This platform is solely for networking and collaboration opportunities among industry partners regarding the upcoming requirement.
2. No Impact on Evaluation: Information submitted for teaming purposes on this website will not be used to evaluate offerors during any subsequent Enhanced Whitepaper submission process.
3. Consortium Access Required: To view final requirement documents and submit an Enhanced Whitepaper, interested parties must join ATI’s consortium. Please contact ATI directly.

To enable teaming, please complete the linked Teaming Form and submit it back to IARPA. Parties interested in teaming can also submit a 1 slide PDF quad chart (no template provided) capturing capabilities and teaming interests which will be made available to the public via this page. All the data, including the quad chart, submitted should be considered potentially available to the public - no private, proprietary, or inappropriate. This information will not be reviewed or considered by the government for any purpose other than review for appropriate content - these are not an endorsement by IARPA. All entities seeking teaming opportunities are engaging solely within their own interests and risks. This information will be removed from the website soon after the AMTC Enhanced White Paper due date passes.