USAMMDA team joins world's biotechnology industry leaders for annual convention in San Diego
Team members with the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity joined thousands of biotechnology industry experts from across the world this week for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization's annual convention, San Diego, June 3-6, 2024.
BIO 2024 is a premier venue for U.S. and international biotechnology industry leaders to learn and share best practices and find ways to integrate and apply developing biotechnologies and research across the industry, including the U.S. military's medical development enterprise. The USAMMDA team is working alongside representatives from adjacent and higher Army medical development commands under the banner of the Defense Health Agency to seek future development opportunities.
One of USAMMDA's vital functions is working with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command's Medical Technology Transfer office to formalize relationships with private sector development organizations to explore future partnership opportunities. Public sector and private industry medical development is a complicated, lengthy, and costly endeavor, and aligning the combined efforts in support of DoD development missions is important to serving the needs of the medical arms of the U.S. military branches.
BIO 2024 is designed to bring industry and government leaders together to generate partnership opportunities and synchronize efforts, and it offers the USAMMDA team unparalleled access to the biotechnology organizations that can help advance the DoD's development missions, according to Judy Holian, branch chief of USAMMDA's Office of Research and Technology Applications.
"The BIO 2024 Convention is a great way for the USAMMDA team to reach into the biotech industry and highlight what we do as the Army's premier medical development activity," said Holian. "Much of what we do as an organization in support of America's Warfighters relies on meeting and communicating with industry partners to find innovative solutions for the needs of frontline medical providers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces communities. During BIO 2024, we can both meet with current biotech industry partners and search for possible future partners to help us continue supporting the biotechnology research, development, and sustainment efforts for the Army and DHA."
USAMMDA currently has more than two dozen ongoing research and development efforts across the spectrum of combat casualty care. One vital USAMMDA effort is working with DoD stakeholders, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and industry partners to find novel treatment options for service members and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. An ongoing study led by USAMMDA's Warfighter Readiness, Performance and Brain Health Project Management Office is designed to research pharmacological solutions for the persistent effects of PTSD, while broadening the DoD's understanding of how best to develop treatment options for both service members and veterans.
BIO 2024, which draws over 15,000 industry leaders and experts in biological sciences, is a prime event to find possible future partners in the pharmaceutical industry to advance the DoD's PTSD treatment programs, according to Holian.
"A pharmaceutical approach to PTSD treatment augments standard therapy, and events like BIO 2024 help us start conversations with experts and industry leaders to broaden the scope of our efforts to provide better solutions to military medical providers and their patients with PTSD," she said.
"Some of USAMMDA's niche efforts aren't as widely known as what we do in direct support of the joint-force medical commands and frontline providers across the military; however, they are just as vitally important as development and sustainment," she added. "Attending events like BIO 2024 helps grow our understanding of where the biotech industry is today, where it is heading, and how we can best align our research and development efforts to build solutions to meet the needs of the U.S. military and adjacent federal agencies, like the VA."
USAMMDA, a subordinate activity of USAMRDC at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is comprised of four Project Management Offices. Coordinating with DoD, non-DoD and government stakeholders, team members from the individual PMOs work to develop and deliver lifesaving and life-preserving devices, treatments, drugs, vaccines, and medical support equipment for the military Joint Forces.
For more information about USAMMDA and how to partner with the U.S. Army medical development enterprise, visit usammda.health.mil.