National Resilience, Inc. (Resilience), a technology-focused manufacturing company dedicated to broadening access to complex medicines, has announced the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded Ology Bioservices, Inc. (Ology), a wholly owned subsidiary of Resilience, a contract valued as much as $250 million for manufacturing development of a monoclonal antibody as a medical countermeasure (MCM) to botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT).
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies BoNT as a category ‘A’ threat – one that poses the highest risk to the public due to its extreme potency and lethality. Under the contract, Resilience’s Ology site in Alachua, Florida, will advance the MCM to U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensure, and then will manufacture the drug at commercial scale and provide stock for military use.
“We are proud to support the Department of Defense develop this important medicine to protect the warfighter from exposure to botulinum toxins,” said Rahul Singhvi, Sc.D., Chief Executive Officer of Resilience. “As we all have seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, a country’s ability to quickly develop and manufacture new treatments for emerging threats is vital for national security. This project helps advance Resilience’s mission to enhance the safety of the country’s supply chain and ensure we are prepared for potential future health threats.”
The contract was awarded by the DOD’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND). (Contract number: W911SR22D0009)
Resilience’s site in Alachua is the DOD’s Advanced Development Manufacturing facility, established explicitly for the purpose of producing therapies and treatments to protect service members from biological weapons and natural threats.
“There is currently no FDA-approved MCM to act as a pretreatment against BoNT,” said Col. Ryan Eckmeier, the Joint Project Manager for the JPEO-CBRND’s Joint Project Manager for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Medical. “Through this contract’s success, we’ll be able to help protect the warfighter from this deadly biological warfare threat.”
