Today, the Office seeks entirely new, rapid mechanisms for discovery, testing, and manufacture of critical therapeutics. Specifically, we are developing platform technologies that will allow the delivery of millions of doses of a definitive therapeutic within 16 weeks of pathogen discovery. For early detection of infection, DSO is developing novel diagnostic paradigms by applying new mathematics (such as topologic analysis) to traditional biochemical and physiologic parameters. Realizing that a newly emergent infectious disease or highly engineered biowarfare agent may demand production of entirely new therapeutics, the Accelerated Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals Program is also pioneering new biotechnology for rapid, large-scale production of complex biological therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies and vaccines with the goal of producing millions of doses of any biologic therapeutic in 12 weeks or less.

DSO is developing enabling technologies that will markedly advance current biosensor capabilities.  For example, by developing real-time control of protein conformation, DSO envisions a new class of biosensors with tunable sensitivity and specificity that can be optimized for the threat level.  Real-time modulation of protein conformation also implies the ability to sense engineered targets that avoid detection by highly specific agents, such as standard monoclonal antibodies.   DSO is also supporting technologies to detect biological agents at standoff distances via coherent nonlinear optical spectroscopy, laser pulse shaping techniques, and adaptive optics coupled to strategies that optimize the return signal from the agent under interrogation. 

DSO’s external protection programs will change the current military decontamination paradigm:  instead of having people decontaminate materials and equipment, DSO is developing materials and equipment that are self-cleaning and self-decontaminating.