The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV), has released a pre-solicitation notice for a potential future project opportunity: TACTIC, or Threat-Agnostic CBRN Therapeutics.
The anticipated effort would support development of therapeutics that address host dysregulation caused by chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear, or CBRN, threats. BARDA is particularly interested in candidates with potential applicability across more than one priority threat category, including viral hemorrhagic fevers, radiation exposure, and chemical injury.
Importantly, this is a pre-solicitation notice only. It is not a Request for Project Proposals, or RPP.
Program Overview
Many existing CBRN medical countermeasures are designed to target a specific threat agent. These approaches can be effective when the causative agent is identified quickly and treatment begins early. However, this model can fall short when diagnosis is delayed, the threat is unknown, a countermeasure is unavailable, or patients arrive after disease processes driven by the body’s own response have already taken hold.
TACTIC is intended to address this gap by advancing therapies that target the body’s response to injury rather than a specific virus, chemical, or radiological exposure. BARDA describes priority host-mediated effects as including immune dysregulation, endothelial dysfunction, coagulation abnormalities, cellular injury, vascular leakage, and progression to multi-organ dysfunction.
The agency is looking for therapeutics that can preserve or restore physiological function, reduce systemic injury, and remain clinically useful in delayed-treatment settings. Approaches with broad utility across multiple CBRN threat categories are of particular interest.
Priority Threat Areas
Biological Threats
For biological-threat submissions, BARDA expects candidates to target host factors or pathways disrupted during filovirus infection, with an emphasis on improving disease outcomes related to endothelial injury, vascular leakage, coagulation abnormalities, and immune dysregulation. Combination studies that evaluate a host-directed therapeutic alongside a direct-acting antiviral are also of interest when they demonstrate a complementary role.
All biological-threat proposals must include a focus on filoviruses. BARDA may also consider work addressing other viral hemorrhagic fever-associated viruses.
Chemical Threats
For chemical threats, the notice identifies several areas of interest:
Pulmonary agents: Treatments for lung injury, including pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, and fibrosis, following exposure to chlorine, sulfur mustard, or phosgene.
Pharmaceutical-based agents: Rapid post-exposure treatments for life-threatening respiratory depression from respiratory depressants or multi-drug toxicity. Candidates targeting opioids should address a range of opioids, including synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Vesicants: Treatments that mitigate injury caused by sulfur mustard or Lewisite, with preference for products that may also address long-term effects such as mustard gas keratopathy.
Knockdown and metabolic agents: Treatments for acute poisoning caused by agents such as cyanides, particularly products that may also address smoke-inhalation injury.
Nerve agents and organophosphorus pesticides: Therapies for symptoms caused by nerve agents and organophosphorus pesticide exposure.
Chemical-threat candidates should be suitable for mass-casualty response, including practical administration and rapid post-exposure efficacy. BARDA also expects candidates to have strong potential for a commercial indication.
Radiological and Nuclear Threats
For radiological and nuclear threats, BARDA is interested in novel or FDA-approved products that target pathways implicated in acute radiation syndrome, or ARS, including cell death, endothelial dysfunction, vascular leakage, coagulation abnormalities, immune dysregulation, and ischemia.
Candidates should be effective when administered at least 24 hours after exposure and should be practical to store, transport, and administer in a range of emergency-response settings. BARDA expects a well-supported mechanism-of-action hypothesis, including a pharmacodynamic marker or comparable correlate, and favors candidates that are approved or have strong potential for a commercial indication.
Anticipated Funding and Key Dates
BARDA anticipates approximately $15 million in total U.S. Government funding and expects to make two to three awards, subject to proposal quality, BARDA priorities, and available federal funding. Additional funding in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 may be available.
The anticipated period of performance is up to five years from award. Design, manufacturing, and nonclinical testing activities are expected to be performed in the United States.
The pre-solicitation notice was released on August 21, 2026. No RPP release date, abstract deadline, or full proposal deadline has been announced.
Questions or comments regarding the pre-solicitation notice may be sent to Kathy Garee at [email protected].
For companies developing host-directed therapeutics, repurposed drugs, platform technologies, or products with a credible commercial pathway and CBRN applicability, the practical next step is to assess technical fit now. Teams should identify evidence gaps, clarify commercial and regulatory positioning, assess their RRPV membership status, and determine whether a strategic teaming arrangement would strengthen the eventual response.
EverGlade is a national advisory firm helping innovators navigate the federal funding ecosystem. We support companies across the funding lifecycle, from early-stage strategy through proposal development, negotiations, and post-award execution, ensuring you win the award and deliver the program.
For additional information on where your capabilities could plug into this upcoming solicitation, schedule a conversation with our team.
