Medical Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats

Research Strategy

General Principles

• Treatments must be appropriate for a diverse civilian population
• Treatment strategies must take into account how a toxic chemical enters the body and the time window for possible medical intervention
• Treatments must be formulated so they can be administered easily and rapidly in a situation involving mass casualties
• Rapid diagnostic tests must be reliable and easily used in mass casualty situations
• Immediate as well as long-term effects of exposure to chemicals must be understood
• Drugs should be chemically and physically stable so that they are amenable to pre-positioning and stockpiling
• Pretreatments for first responders are desirable especially when decontamination is not possible