7) Emerging and Pharmaceutical-based Agent Threats (EMPATH)
Abstract
As technology advances, the number of “easily available” threat chemicals increases. Some of these new chemicals pose threats to the warfighter and are therefore termed Emerging Chemical Threats (ECTs). In addition to ECTs, a subset of chemical threats includes legitimate medicines that are repurposed by those with malign intent as chemical threat agents, referred to collectively as Pharmaceutical Based Agents (PBAs). These compounds have genuine medical utility but can be abused (by level of exposure and/or delivery method) as general incapacitants (notably, large doses can easily become lethal). The warfighter requires effective MCMs that prevent or reverse the adverse effects of ECTs and PBAs, while still allowing for the use of U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs (e.g., morphine, fentanyl) by Joint Force Medical Staff for their labeled indications of pain management and sedation. EmPATh is evaluating approved medicines as well as developing new ones for use in the field to counteract these effects. The portfolio is working to develop MCMs that are effective against a wide range of ECT/PBA-induced symptoms which may be common across several different types of threat agents. Groups of symptoms caused by a family of threat agents that act similarly are called toxidromes; and medical countermeasures that address the symptoms of several different types of threat agents simultaneously are called cross-toxidromic medicines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2025
- Source ID
- bcafafcef9a35d04ad4f9d1ba6a61bc4