Advances in medical biological defense technology

No single medical countermeasure will meet the needs for defense against all biological threats in all possible scenarios (civilian, military, clinical, and environmental). As the threat of genetically engineered organisms rises and the risk increases that these organisms might escape detection and successful treatment, it will be necessary to use advances in bioengineering to combat these new threats. This article presents several novel approaches taken by the DoD in collaboration with industry partners and other federal laboratories to produce improved biowarfare vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. In the future, the United States must remain on the cutting edge of biotechnology and continue to predict the next areas of research necessary to maintain protection for the state-of-the-art warfighter on the battlefield.