Biological agents have become cheaper, faster, and easier for adversaries to engineer and employ due to advancements in science and technology. Though defeating these dynamic threats can be challenging, the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense’s (JPEO-CBRND) Joint Project Lead for CBRND Enabling Biotechnologies (JPL CBRND EB) is using the power of technology and information that is already available to help the joint force stay ahead of the constantly evolving threat. In response to this landscape combined with using “data as a product,” JPL CBRND EB stood up an office with a “data-forward” approach called Data and Technology Integration for Readiness (DTIR).
The DTIR product office solidifies JPL CBRND EB’s commitment to understanding how data can be used to solve defense challenges. DTIR combines an integrated portfolio of technologies, advanced computation, and scientific expertise to allow for earlier evaluation of potential medical countermeasure (MCM) candidates (i.e., drugs) while developing pre-emptive capabilities to accelerate warfighter protection and ensure data-driven acquisition decisions.
“We are using our data to build systems that accelerate getting MCMs to the joint force. With data, we can teach artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to evaluate the potential success of a MCM candidate before we invest in manufacturing or other development efforts,” said David Bailey, Director of DTIR. “It also allows us to pause, and course correct before we are too far into the development cycle.”
There are currently two programs in DTIR’s portfolio, each with a distinct focus on leveraging data to accelerate and drive timely decisions: the Generative Unconstrained Intelligent Drug Engineering (GUIDE) program and Rapid Access to Products in Development (RAPID) program.
GUIDE is an interagency partnership with the Department of Energy, along with other interagency, academic, and industry partners, focused on using integrated computational and experimental capabilities to accelerate MCM development for the joint force. GUIDE uses high-performance computers and tailor-made AI/ML tools to computationally develop and optimize MCMs early in the drug development lifecycle.
These MCMs candidates are accelerated through the early stages of development so that a final drug product can be delivered to the warfighter quickly. This also positions them for further development (e.g., preclinical safety and clinical testing) based on risk-informed decisions about the threat, and if necessary, they are transferred to other JPEO-CBRND programs to achieve the desired end state, such as full FDA licensure. GUIDE’s computational and experimental tools serve as up-front risk reduction for MCM development, and in turn, save millions of dollars and valuable time.
"With GUIDE, we’re looking at all aspects of development early in the process – seeing what works, what is safe, and what can be manufactured before we go into a large-scale development program,” said Nicole Dorsey, Deputy Joint Project Lead for CBRND Enabling Biotechnologies. “Ultimately, GUIDE lets us accomplish a lot more work with the same amount of funding, giving our warfighters a broader set of tools against an increasingly advanced and broad threat space."
GUIDE has already shown promising results, which have been published in Nature and Science Advances. While GUIDE focuses on generating computations of potential MCMs, RAPID focuses on increasing understanding of drugs in the development pipeline.
RAPID will act as a library of medical products that have not yet been licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The system gives decision makers insights into MCMs that could be accelerated for development and/or emergency fielding. RAPID will provide visibility into the readiness of products to support data-driven investment decisions and promote timely response to emerging threats.
“Access to the RAPID library allows joint force decision makers to see what MCMs may already exist and understand potential opportunities for use, saving both time and money” Dorsey said. “Embracing technology allows us to build a critical layer of integrated layered defense and support warfighters’ resilience and readiness, keeping them in the fight. These programs are just the beginning of how we want to use data-as-a-product to support the warfighter”.
RAPID and GUIDE are foundational parts of the DTIR office, however JPL CBRND EB is also applying data-as-a-product to bolster programs in support of warfighter physical protection, by leading the Agent Mannikin Integrated Ensemble Examination (AMIEE). AMIEE will be a device used to test individual protection equipment. JPL CBRND EB’s program aims to increase testing of novel individual protection technologies, reducing the time required to field those capabilities to the warfighter.
JPL CBRND EB’s data-focused programs support JPEO-CBRND’s ability to protect the joint force, understand the threat, mitigate the effects of a CBRN event, and accelerate CBRN defense capabilities, thereby continuing to strengthen warfighter readiness and promote strategic deterrence.
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