Research on Chemical and Biological Defense

The Department of the Army administers Research on Chemical and Biological Defense (CFDA 12.360) to develop capabilities that prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat effects of chemical, radiological, and biological warfare agents, with the most recent grant award issued on December 13, 2022. The program is no longer actively soliciting new proposals; the most recent opportunities posted in 2022 and earlier have closed. Program activity has declined markedly since 2021, with 12 awards in 2022 falling to 0 awards in the three years since.

The Department of the Army Acquisition Support Center Joint Project Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPM MCS) dominates funding, accounting for 17 awards totaling $393.2 million in federal dollars obligated—88 percent of the program's $445.7 million total. The Office of the Secretary of Defense provided 34 awards but only $14.8 million. The Department of the Army Materiel Command Research Development and Engineering Command contributed 12 awards worth $33.1 million. The program has funded 71 grants since 2006, distributed between Project Grants (66 percent) and Cooperative Agreements (34 percent).

Recent award activity skews heavily toward pandemic-response medical countermeasures. A cluster of COVID-19 industrial base expansion agreements in 2021 and early 2022 dominated obligated funding: fill-and-finish capacity expansion to Jubilant Hollister Stier ($34.4 million), aseptic fill-and-finish expansion to Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing ($37.8 million), lipid nanoparticle manufacturing capacity ($10.3 million and $4.2 million across two recipients), ribonucleotide triphosphate expansion to Exela Pharma Sciences ($40.4 million), and vial production capacity expansion ($33.2 million). These cooperative agreements have since transferred to Health and Human Services. Older awards funded biological threat agent research, vector control, medical countermeasures development, and soldier protective equipment, including rapid identification of biological warfare agents ($1.4 million, 2009) and ricin vaccine development ($3.4 million, 2008).

The program accepts applications from public or private educational institutions, nonprofit organizations operated for public benefit, and commercial firms. Maximum project duration is 5 years. Recipients expending $750,000 or more in federal awards annually trigger single or program-specific audit requirements under 2 CFR 200. The current Broad Agency Announcement is W911SR-22-S-CBRND, active for multiple fiscal years, though no new solicitations are posted.