BIODEFENSE RESEARCH SUPPORTING THE DoD: A NEW STRATEGIC VISION

The general public often assumes that medical products
will be available to members of the U.S. armed forces in
harm’s way. Availability of safe and effective drugs and
vaccines, however, is never an accident; such products are
the fruition of focused and methodical research, testing
and evaluation over many years. Medical research is
inherently a high risk endeavor, and even the most efficient
programs can span almost 15 years and cost over $1 billion
from product discovery to Food and Drug Administration
licensure.
In this monograph, Colonel Coleen Martinez examines
the productivity of the Department of Defense’s biodefense
research program over the course of more than 35 years,
coupled with changes in the global research environment
since the events of September 11, 2001. Few will argue
the need for a national investment in biodefense. Where
the deployment of a biologic agent of mass destruction is
largely an unpredictable risk, the outcome certainly could
be catastrophic for an unprotected population. An urgent
moral imperative is cast upon the federal government,
then, to objectively assess the application and management
of its biodefense research resources.
The purpose of this monograph is not to provide
a single solution, but rather to stimulate senior leader
critical analysis, dialogue and action to improve program
efficiency and productivity for the benefit of both the
warfighter and the nation. The Strategic Studies Institute
is pleased to publish it as a contribution to the debate on
this important subject.