BIODEFENSEThe Need for Speed in Biodefense: How JPEO-CBRND is Shaping its Biological Defense and Medical Strategies
Biological incidents possess an alarming ability to wreak havoc on a massive scale, capable of rapidly escalating beyond the scale seen during COVID-19. The need lies in developing solutions that surpass the speed of these threats. The future of biodefense depends on the ability to rapidly respond to an event by quickly developing and distributing medical countermeasures (MCMs), such as vaccines and therapeutics. This includes optimizing manufacturing techniques and establishing robust partnerships to ensure these MCMs can be quickly and effectively deployed in the event of a threat.
Biological incidents possess an alarming ability to wreak havoc on a massive scale, capable of rapidly escalating beyond the scale seen during COVID-19. The need lies in developing solutions that surpass the speed of these threats. Our warfighters need to swiftly defend themselves against a biological threat, or better yet, prevent it entirely, to ensure they remain operationally ready to carry out their mission. The COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect example of how a biological incident can start off small and swiftly snowball into unprecedented crisis levels.
The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND), on behalf of the Defense Department (DOD), partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the national response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Though its role in the pandemic response will fully transition to HHS this fall, JPEO-CBRND implemented lessons learned to update its approach to tackling emerging threats. This dynamic strategy underscores the principles of rapid response, integrated layered defense and partnerships to protect military personnel from CBRN threats.
In the 2022 National Biodefense Strategy, the White House outlined the importance of staying ready for any biological incident through investing in capabilities such as manufacturing, developing prototypes, analyzing existing data that could be useful in developing future countermeasures and standardizing clinical trials. Collectively, these goals will enable future response efforts to move faster at lower cost.
The future of biodefense depends on the ability to rapidly respond to an event by quickly developing and distributing medical countermeasures (MCMs), such as vaccines and therapeutics. This includes optimizing manufacturing techniques and establishing robust partnerships to ensure these MCMs can be quickly and effectively deployed in the event of a threat.
JPEO-CBRND’s Joint Project Lead for CBRN Defense Enabling Biotechnologies (JPL CBRND EB) has led a significant investment in platform technologies and programs to improve preparedness for future threats. Platform technology refers to the use of standardized processes and tools to rapidly develop and manufacture MCMs in response to a threat. This approach is like setting up an assembly line that can be turned on when needed, rather than building the line from scratch each time a product is required. The goal is to have the ability to quickly develop and manufacture MCMs in response to a threat.
