- DOW, NIH ink interagency agreement on medical countermeasures
- Deal sets up NIH funding transfers for advanced development work
- Explore AI, modernization priorities and more at the 2026 Healthcare Summit
The Department of War and the National Institutes of Health have signed an interagency agreement to support the research and development of medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, or CBRN, threats; pandemic influenza; and emerging infectious diseases.
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The agreement, signed in early August, was established under the Economy Act between NIH and the DOW Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical and Biological Defense Policy and Programs, or OASW ND-CBD.
What Is the Purpose & Scope of the Agreement?
The agreement facilitates the transfer of funding from NIH to OASW ND-CBD, enabling the office to provide acquisition services that support the advanced development of medical countermeasures.
Under the arrangement, NIH will tap into OASW ND-CBD’s procurement, grant-making and funding infrastructure to advance foundational science and supporting research streams, helping move early-stage findings toward practical, field-ready countermeasures.
OASW ND-CBD will draw on NIH’s scientific data, product pipelines and translational research expertise to award contracts, grants and other transaction agreements for therapeutics, diagnostics and personal protective equipment addressing pandemic influenza, CBRN threats and emerging infectious disease risks.
What Are the Responsibilities of DOW & NIH Under the Agreement?
Under the agreement, OASW ND-CBD will:
- Enter into contracts, grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions to research and develop medical countermeasures.
- Provide technical and compliance oversight of programs funded under the agreement.
- Give NIH access to technical and business documents tied to program development.
- Deliver rapid response analysis and capability action plans for emerging threats.
- Work to mature technologies supporting detection, threat assessment and protection capabilities.
NIH will:
- Make data and products developed for civilian healthcare available for use by OASW ND-CBD in support of biodefense work.
- Coordinate with OASW ND-CBD to develop statements of work and place funding orders.
- Provide funding sufficient to support the research effort and related program management.
- Supply a technical team to support oversight, including participation in project meetings and deliverable reviews.
Both parties will hold quarterly meetings to review progress, and each will retain final authority over requirements in its respective domain — NIH over civilian public health applications, and OASW ND-CBD over warfighter and military-operational applications.
How Does Agreement Align With Other CBRN Programs?
DOW has expanded its CBRN readiness posture through several initiatives. Months before the NIH pact was signed, the Pentagon issued an updated departmentwide policy on CBRN survivability, requiring mission-critical defense systems to build survivability requirements into every stage of the acquisition lifecycle. The Army’s Joint Program Executive Office for CBRN Defense has moved in parallel on the equipment side, recently adding NOBLE to a $500 million commercial solutions IDIQ contract used to rapidly acquire and field CBRN items and equipment for the warfighter.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has run a similar effort on the medical side. In July 2023, BARDA sought proposals for the second iteration of its accelerator program to advance the rapid development and commercialization of medical countermeasures.
