Medical Countermeasures

Lovelace Biomedical has highly secure, specialized facilities in which we conduct chemical warfare agent (CWA) / toxic industrial chemical (TIC) exposures in compliance with the chemical weapons convention. The laboratory has been conducting research with chemical agents for more than two decades, and can apply novel tools to these studies, such as pulmonary and neurophysiology (ie EEG) and imaging with CT/MRI.
We have worked with a variety highly toxic chemical agents including:

• sulfur mustard
• Sarin
• Soman
• Vx
• phosgene
• methyl isocyanate
• ammonia
• formaldehyde
• hydrogen sulfide
• chlorine

Lovelace Biomedical has highly specialized models and facilities to mimic injury and polytrauma experienced by the warfighter in austere conditions. Our team is working with technologies that will both widen the post-injury window of life in a far-field environment and provide short and long term beneficial clinical outcome.
Capabilities include:

• Realistic models of traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury & hemorrhagic shock
• Veterinary monitored surgical suite, shock tube, and HYGE™ acceleration-deceleration (reverse acceleration) device
• Military designed and approved test track and transport vehicle to simulate realistic conditions for en-route care with physiological models
• Air transport facilities to simulate realistic conditions for en-route care with physiological models
• Advanced neuroimaging (fMRI, CT, EEG, MEG) to improve diagnosis and understanding of pathology/treatment following TBI and polytrauma

In summary, Lovelace Biomedical offers the medical countermeasure community:

• Numerous animal models relevant to all aspects of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats.
• Single animal model studies to determine the effects of medical countermeasures (e.g., respiratory centers, bronchoconstriction, and lung inflammation) and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions.
• Extensive experience in developing diagnostic assays for a host of diseases.
• Physical and biological science capabilities for the generation, collection, and measurement of materials of CBRN interest, including aerosols, nerve gases, and radiological materials. Given New Mexico’s unique regulations, we can manufacture small batches of chemical agents at our South facility.
• Extensive modeling and simulation capabilities.
• Extensive experience in technology transition, specifically relevant to drug development.

Our team has developed and validated models of acute radiation syndrome, dermal burn/radiation combinations, and systemic injury models in the gastrointestinal and cardiopulmonary systems, including deep internal expertise in radiation dosimetry, radiation drug countermeasure drug development and risk assessment.