Emergent BioSolutions Inc. today announced that the company’s ruggedized, military-grade auto-injector platform has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Battelle to be tested against and developed to U.S. military specifications as a platform for nerve agent antidote delivery.
Emergard, launched by the company in August 2015, was selected from among several commercially available auto-injector devices, is designed to be transported, stored, and operated in a military environment and to ensure needle penetration and successful injection through chemical protective gear.
Development and testing of Emergard is expected to be completed in 2016 and, if successful, could lead to Emergard’s future procurement for U.S. military and emergency responder use.
“We are pleased that our Emergard platform has been selected by DoD and Battelle for testing and development to address U.S. military auto-injector needs,” said Adam Havey, executive vice president and president, biodefense division of Emergent BioSolutions. “The Emergard platform, which is designed for intramuscular self-injection of antidotes and other emergency response medical treatments for nerve agents and other chemical threats, is another example of Emergent’s commitment to protecting lives and being a global leader in the development and manufacture of medical countermeasures that address biological and chemical threats as well as emerging infectious diseases.”
The testing and development of Emergard will be performed under a subcontract with Battelle, which in turn has a prime contract with DoD. This contract is supported by the Defense Technical Information Center, which serves the DoD community as the largest central resource for DoD and government-funded research, development, technical, and engineering information. Emergard is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Emergard is a trademarked, protected term by Emergent Biosolutions.
