“If you build it, they will come”
Build a 'biodefense’ facility for MCMs, and ‘biothreats’ will follow
For this post, see information on the evolution of the DoD-ADM - the Department of Defense Advanced Development and Manufacturing facility: an actual military-industrial complex for medical countermeasures (MCMs) in the event of a ‘pandemic’, and/or ‘biomanufacturing’ in inter-pandemic periods.
This is the template for public-private partnerships in the ‘biodefense’ and ‘health security’ space.
Based on this model, is the Next Pandemic too big to fail?
For background on the “JPEO-CBRND” - an office of the U.S. DoD and an “International MCM-Stakeholder” according to Australia’s Defence Materials Technology Centre - see recent post here:
For background on “Resilience” (aka “Ology Bioservies” etc) - a (CIA-linked) biomanufacturing company - see the postscript with links to Whitney Webb’s 2022 investigative article and Sasha Latypova’s recent post.
The model for public-private 'pandemics'... and 'biomanufacturing'
Is the ‘Next Pandemic’ inevitable… or not?
To set the scene…
Recall this recent revelation by (ex-)Senator Burr about public-private partnerships for MCMs, and a previous bird flu beat-up (aka ‘potential pandemic’)…
Richard Burr, 16 April 2024:
… I see the private sector as a crucial component to the overall success.
And Julie [Gerberding] was in government I think at the time when H5N1 first appeared as a potential pandemic threat, and we did something in government that I don't think everybody thought we could do.
We actually partnered with private companies to build vaccine capacity… where the government funded two thirds and the private sector funded a third with an agreement that if it ever became a pandemic, we could take over the facilities, we could mass produce for the American people and for probably the global population if there was a need for it.
But if that was never triggered, then we operated in a seasonal flu vaccine.
One of the challenges was - in the switch of administrations and companies wanting to sell and diverse into other things - we forgot the real foundational reason we created these partnerships.
Yes, “the real foundational reason”: a gigantic racket.
The “warm base” of vaccine manufacturing coupled with the ability to surge “at-scale”.
(In this discussion about the new U.S. Government “Global Health Security Strategy”, (ex-)Senator Burr also takes credit for “creating” BARDA, and talks at length about leveraging “assets within the USG”.)
In response to Burr’s point, Stephanie Psaki - representing the White House - emphasizes that…
… the private sector has said over and over again that they need a clear signal that there will be demand for a larger supply […] very early in a pandemic.
Hmm… a clear signal to the private sector… very early in a ‘pandemic’.
Translation: boost ‘biothreat’ alarmism to trigger EUA countermeasures.
DoD-ADM: nationalize the costs… privatize the profits
The following is a brief summary and timeline for the DoD-ADM and its transition to “Resilience” based on publicly available information from the JPEO-CBRND website/ youtube channel and news media reports. Don’t miss the exciting 3 minute video at the end!
Born out of the Department of Defense's need to rapidly respond to emerging known and unknown threats domestically and abroad, the state-of-the-art Advanced Development and Manufacturing facility provides DOD and private industry with the space and tools necessary to rapidly produce medical countermeasures.
2009: DARPA report on MCMs
A Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-sponsored evaluation of the U.S. Government’s biological medical countermeasure (MCM) response capacity conducted in 2009… identified an unmet need to rapidly develop, license, and manufacture biological MCMs required to protect military and civilian populations during time of CBRN crisis, which includes naturally occurring pandemics as well as deliberate attacks.
2010: White House memorandum on MCMs
From that [DARPA] report, a memorandum was created in 2010, by John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, to Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, to “Establish agile and flexible advanced development and manufacturing capabilities to support the development, licensure, and production of medical countermeasures that address the needs of our military and the nation.”
In response to the memorandum, the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) spearheaded an effort to establish a public/private partnership to address the military’s unmet needs, giving the Government priority access for manufacturing of MCM’s in the event of a national emergency.
2013: Nanotherapeutics Inc. (later rebranded as Ology Bioservices Inc.) awarded the contract to establish the DoD-ADM
Located in Alachua, Florida, the DoD-ADM is a biologics manufacturing facility capable of producing MCMs… against chemical/biological warfare agents and emerging infectious diseases.
2017: Ology Bioservices officially opened the DoD-ADM
… a 183,000 sq. ft. biological multi-product development and drug substance manufacturing facility.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic…”
… through the spring and summer of 2020, the facility was quickly redeployed to meet the immediate need by developing both a DNA vaccine and a monoclonal antibody countermeasure to combat the virus.
2021: National Resilience (aka Resilience) acquired Ology Bioservices/ Nanotherapeutics and “continued supporting the DoD needs”.
Consistent with the public/private partnership, Resilience and the JPEO-CBRND through a cost share agreement expanded the manufacturing capability as a result of the global COVID pandemic needs…. more than doubling the manufacturing capacity.
Over the past ten plus years, the public/private partnership with the DoD has resulted in a fully functional facility that has produced multiple commercial and government funded biological MCMs…
As a result of the DoD investments, the DOD-ADM facility offers priority access to all infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities, which is unique in the commercial space; … and it possesses both cGMP compliant and BSL-3 capable operations, which is a rare combination of requirements.
The DoD-ADM also provides access to FDA known manufacturing modalities and technologies that improve cost and accelerates production and regulatory approval.
2023: JPEO-CBRND “transferred ownership and sustainment”… to Resilience
This arrangement of both public (DoD) funds and private (contractor) funds allowed the DoD to have priority access to the MCM manufacturing capability when needed [in the event of a national emergency] while simultaneously allowing the contractor to seek out commercial work.
However, in FY22, this arrangement entered a new chapter when the JPEO-CBRND transferred ownership and sustainment of the USG-funded portion of the capability over to the contractor - [Resilience] - in exchange for continued government priority access…
And before the final curtain…
Check out this inspiring video promotion, courtesy of the DoD:
The [DoD-ADM] facility has a proven track record of success by rapidly producing quality medical countermeasures for the war fighter and the public.
Private industry and government organizations should partner with us in this critical mission.
Postscript: related reading/ links
“RNA for Moderna’s Omicron Booster Manufactured by CIA-Linked Company”
by Whitney Webb - 17 August 2022
“Reminder: there are no requirements for FDA inspections of biologics facilities”
by
with - 15 June 2024“The Great Preset and the Biodefense Boondoggle”
by DemocracyManifest - 6 January 2024
Note: The JPEO-CBRND is included on a list of “International MCM Stakeholders” along with multiple USG agencies as part of the MCM Consortium under the CBR Defence Cooperative Program according to Australia’s “Defence Materials Technology Centre”. See post for details:
