Deployable Medical Countermeasures for Warfighter Readiness
Abstract
Maintaining robust protection and treatment against infectious disease threats during stabilization operations (e.g., Humanitarian and Disaster Relief [HADR]) requires rapid drug discovery and reducing manufacturing and supply chain burdens. A major limitation of our current response to emerging biological and chemical threats is the lack of immediate availability of ideal medical countermeasures (MCMs) for rapid response, which includes high quality nucleic acid templates for MCM manufacturing. These nucleic acids are also critical for R&D applications ranging from synthetic biology to the testing and development of medical countermeasures. Current DNA production capabilities are limited to less than a handful of US-based manufacturers; it takes weeks to months to produce adequate quality and quantity of DNA at these manufacturing sites and ship them to downstream partners. The Deployable Medical Countermeasures for Warfighter Readiness program aims to develop an on-demand deployable platform to manufacture nucleic acid drugs safely at scale, in short timeframes. The platform will be comprised of a fully contained system capable of selectively manufacturing relevant doses of current Good Manufacturing Process (cGMP) grade nucleic acid therapeutics at or near the point of care. This effort will also develop high quality gene-length DNA for research and development. This on-demand platform will enable countermeasures capable of combating novel threats, allowing a small force to prevent regional outbreaks from becoming global emergencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2024
- Source ID
- e90c8e96b915b49a3f31488a4e8cf90d
Related Documents
- Root: BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY