Texas Biomed now part of the national readiness and preparedness network
The federal agency that protects the nation against pandemics and bioterrorism has elevated Texas Biomed into the top ranks of its readiness and preparedness network. The move positions Texas as a leading source of medical countermeasures against 21st century health security threats.
The new designation as a prime contractor for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) opens Texas Biomed to a portfolio of up to $100 million in funding over five years. BARDA, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, oversees advanced research and development of medical countermeasures – vaccines, treatments and diagnostics – for public health emergencies stemming from infectious disease outbreaks, as well as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents and attacks.
Texas Biomed has long been a partner with BARDA through subcontractor status. Since 2015, the Institute has received about $46 million through subprime contracts. The promotion into its limited network of prime contractors now places the Institute in the upper echelons of global readiness and preparedness work, says Texas Biomed President/CEO Larry Schlesinger, MD.
“The significance of this cannot be overstated,” Dr. Schlesinger says. “We are now fully integrated into the federal fabric of preparedness. Texas Biomed is ideally and uniquely suited to be part of forward- thinking solutions for the growing infectious disease threats we face.”
Fewer than 15 labs nationwide – now including Texas Biomed as the only one in the state – are part of BARDA’s Nonclinical Biological Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Network.
BARDA describes the purpose of these awards as building lab capability in the areas of “animal model development and analytical method development, qualification, validation and testing.”
“Texas Biomed’s new partnership with BARDA will improve our ability to prevent, assess, prepare for, and respond to biological threats,” says U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio. “This move further expands Texas’ significance as a leader in military and community preparedness. The jobs and innovations that will be generated from this designation will boost San Antonio’s ability to compete globally in the biomedical and biotech realms.”
researchers are able to study such deadly pathogens in the high containment lab,
known as a BSL-4.
The network was developed in 2011 in order to better develop and bridge animal research study data to humans to provide evidence of therapy and vaccine effectiveness. It’s a key element in studying medical countermeasures since efficacy of many products surrounding such critical threats often cannot be verified using human clinical studies.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg – referencing the recent City Council decision to award preparedness funding to the Institute – says the partnership is proof that “our investment in Texas Biomed is already paying off.”
Since the opening of its high containment biosafety lab, known as a BSL-4, in 1999, Texas Biomed has worked closely with federal agencies on combatting national security bioterror threats. A recent example is its ongoing subcontract work with the Sabin Vaccine Institute through BARDA in developing a vaccine candidate for a variant of Ebola that caused an outbreak in Uganda in 2022 and 2023.
“Receiving the BARDA prime designation is proof that public/private partnerships produce high-value results,” says Texas Biomed Board of Trustees Chair Jamo Rubin, MD.