The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) reopened submissions for redeveloping therapeutics into medical countermeasures against chemical threats last week.
Of interest are therapeutics already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or those in late-stage development. BARDA’s Division of Research, Innovation and Ventures (DRIVe), together with applicants, will seek to evaluate new uses for these drugs in the field of chemical exposure. To be clear, this means the drugs will be weighed for usefulness against symptoms of exposure to chemical threats, not the chemical agents themselves.
Chemical exposures can be as deadly as chemicals themselves. Intentional or accidental, these effects can cascade into injury or even death in short order. As such, BARDA seeks to have medical countermeasures readily available to treat associated health effects.
Specifically, BARDA pointed to drugs with potential use against exposure to cyanide, opioids, nerve agents, chlorine, and sulfur mustard, but others are welcome. Companies with promising therapeutics or computational approaches to identifying candidates for this repurposing effort are welcome to apply until March 31, 2022.