Pentagon opens facility to counter biothreats.

• Author: Machi, Vivienne
• Position: Global Defense

The Defense Department is working with the biotech and pharmaceutical industry to run a state-of-the-art facility that can enable rapid development of key medical remedies tailored to military uses.

The medical countermeasure advanced development and manufacturing facility, recently opened in Alachua, Florida, will serve as a laboratory for pharmaceutical companies to bring in small teams to focus on counteragents for viruses, such as Ebola, and toxins that could be weaponized, such as anthrax. The facility's development was overseen by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

The 180,000 square-foot facility features two manufacturing suites with two rooms each that offer a flexible, modular space that can be used for a variety of needs, said Tim Belski, joint product director for advanced development manufacturing capabilities, and the government program manager for the effort.

The facility is rated at bio safety level III as specified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which means work can be done involving microbes that can cause serious and potentially lethal disease via inhalation, Belski said.

"That allows us to manufacture products that require a higher level of containment," he said.

The Defense Department in 2013 awarded a contract to Nanotherapeutics, a private drug development company based in Alachua, to own and operate the building, while the U.S. government maintains ownership of the equipment, Belski...