We are pleased to announce that Project Last Mile is seeking an agency that can assist in providing technical assistance, specifically across clinical expertise, to two biomedical technology enterprises. The technical assistance will centre on mPox, Swinepox and Lassa Virus diagnostic assays. The technical assistance will be led by a Project Last Mile expert, with the successful agency reporting to that individual.
To apply, please submit a proposal to karin@projectlastmile.com by 5:00 pm SAST, 14 February 2024.
Details of what to submit are included below.
BACKGROUND
Epidemic-prone infectious disease threats have the potential to endanger lives and disrupt economies, travel, trade, and the food supply. Since the start of the 21st century, infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics have increased. The vast majority — more than 70% — of epidemic-prone infectious disease threats originate from animals, at a time when many people around the world are living in closer proximity to animals. These threats have manifested themselves over the past two decades in the form of more frequent outbreaks, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for strong and resilient health security capacity to save lives and to strengthen the ability to stop emerging outbreaks at their source.
The USAID works in close cooperation with international partners to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats around the world. USAID’s Emerging Threats Division (ETD) works to fill critical gaps in building sustained and coordinated One Health capacities that incorporate linkages between human, animal, and environmental health. USAID ETD is working with Project Last Mile to identify and support enterprises with innovative solutions to address disease-related emerging threat prevention and control.
Project Last Mile is a cross-sector partnership between PEPFAR, USAID, The Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, The Coca-Cola Company, The Coca-Cola Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, designed to support ministries of health and partners in applying The Coca-Cola ecosystem’s logistics, supply chain, and marketing expertise to strengthen public health systems across Africa.
In partnership with USAID, Project Last Mile has identified two enterprises that are developing innovative diagnostic assays and who would benefit from Project Last Mile’s technical assistance.
Each enterprise will be matched with a Project Last Mile Subject Matter Expert and will gain one-on-one technical advice, coaching, and mentoring support to design a solution to a key business challenge being faced by the enterprise. Project Last Mile is seeking an agency to provide clinical expertise to work together with this Subject Matter Expert.
SCOPE OF WORK
The scope of work below is planned for 1 March 2024 – 31 July 2024.
Five elements will be assessed for each disease that form the technical assistance framework. Each of these will be led by the Subject Matter Expert, with the successful agency requested to perform certain tasks as outlined in the next section.
The work required includes the below tasks for three diagnostic assays – mPox, swinepox and Lassa Virus. The target markets are expected to be 1-2 countries within Africa per disease. These markets are still to be decided but can be expected to be countries where there is a relatively high incidence of the diseases.
- Identification of the Target Market
- Market research to understand the size, trends, and dynamics of the target. This may encompass sources, such as industry reports, surveys, and customer interviews.
2. Competitive Analysis
- Identification and analysis of current players in the market, with a view to assess their strengths, weaknesses, market share, pricing, and strategies.
3. Regulatory
- Assessment of the regulatory landscape, including requirements, lead times, cost, etc
4. Pricing Strategy
- Determine the pricing strategy to be followed. Considerations would include input costs, perceived value, and competitor pricing.
5. Distribution Channels
- Recommend the most effective distribution channels to reach the target customers.
AGENCY DELIVERABLES
Project Last Mile is seeking a partner to support each work area as listed below. Project Last Mile would be relying on the agency’s expertise to answer key questions in each work area. Regular meetings to report on progress and co-create the analysis and deliverables will be required. The main deliverable for this work will be regular written reports outlining the findings (and methods followed) of each work area identified below, not limited to but including;
- Identification of the target market
- Who are the customers and users of these diagnostic tests?
- Other general support may be required
2. Competitive analysis
- Understanding of the current landscape for the diagnosis of the above diseases How do clinicians test for these diseases currently, and how do they form part of the current workflow?
- Who offers this product or service?
- What is the cost of current options?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of current options?
- Other general support may be required
3. Regulatory
- Approval requirements per stage for diagnostics for each disease per country/ target market
- Expected timings required for each stage
- Expected cost of progression through each stage
- Other general support may be required
4. Pricing strategy
- General support may be required
5. Distribution channels
- General support may be required
As this is a scientific and health-related project, the scope and support required under each workstream may evolve during the project performance period. Agencies are welcome to submit either a fixed price quote or a level-of-effort scaling quote indicating minimum fees and additional costs per hour/day.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
The list below outlines all the information required to successfully apply for the opportunity:
Proposal and costing (can be shared in PPT or PDF format)
- Company overview: Please provide a brief description of your company, including its office size, history, resources, types of services customarily provided, and location(s).
- Organization and staffing: Please provide an overview of the core team who would work on the project and identify the account manager who will manage this portfolio day-to-day.
- Past experience and credentials: Please provide specific examples of similar communications services that you have completed or are currently providing, including examples that demonstrate your ability to rapidly develop and test the messaging toolkit and engagement strategy outlined here.
- Overview of the high-level approach: Describe the skillsets and attributes that your firm brings to the project, including the approach you would take to complete the deliverables.
- Third-party suppliers: Provide an overview of the third-party suppliers who may need to enlist to complete this project, including their credentials and examples of previous work similar in scope.
- Estimated budget (USD): Based on the outlined project scope, please provide an estimated budget, including a cost-bucket breakdown. This should include an estimate of the proposed resources you would dedicate to this account, rates, and estimated budget to support the scope of work above in March – July 2024. The selected firm will be contracted in USD by the Global Environment and Technology Foundation, a non-profit based in the United States that administers Project Last Mile.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Agencies will be evaluated based on the criteria indicated below:
- Core capabilities in diagnostic assay clinical technical knowledge, including expertise in the diseases indicated.
- Communication and professionalism.
- Track record of doing similar work in a timely manner.
- Team diversity.
- Cost-effectiveness.
All submissions will be informed of the result of the evaluation process before/in March 2024.