Latest cbrn news from mtec 2026
Just back from the 2026 MTEC | Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium annual meeting in Washington DC. It was great be there representing Island Pharmaceuticals and to see my old friend and first LinkedIn contact Shawn J. Green. Here are some key take-aways from the session with Capability Program Executive for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (CPE CBRND), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Joint Requirements office:
CPE CBRND Medical named explicit top priorities for industry targeting: 1) Chemical prophylaxis — treatments that keep warfighters in the fight, not just on a path to recovery. 2) Host-directed / broad-spectrum therapeutics. The government needs platform approaches that work across threat classes. 3) IndoPaCom-relevant capabilities — geographic threat context matters. Start with endemic threats in that theater and build outward.
BARDA signaled ongoing portfolio evolution: 1) The COVID response demonstrated the necessity of rapid-response platform capabilities that can flex to novel threats quickly. 2) BARDA is now heavily focused on host-directed and syndrome-directed therapeutics — borrowed from the Chem/Rad/Nuke side and now applied to biological and emerging infectious disease portfolios. 3) On-demand and point-of-need manufacturing is a priority area where industry help is actively sought. The model of stockpiling hundreds of countermeasures is unsustainable. 4) Commercial utility is now an explicit evaluation criterion in proposals. If your technology has only a government use case, that is a red flag. Dual-use is the order of the day.
DoW budget reality: CPE-CBRND limited funding is spread across a wide CBRN capability development portfolio. Their effective ceiling is Phase 2 completion. After that, companies may need a commercial partner to help push a product across the Phase 3/licensure finish line. I have seen this first hand and it is going to be very challenging for many companies not prepared for this new reality.
