DARPA Eyes Battlefield Medicine Manufacturing

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency launched a project yesterday called Bio-MOD -- Biologically-derived Medicines on Demand -- to develop portable gizmos to manufacture medicines on the battlefield.

DARPA wants researchers to concentrate on developing a system that can quickly manufacture in remote outposts a class of medicines called protein biologics, antibodies and other protein drugs that often can treat diseases resistant to traditional approaches.

The agency said it is looking for portable systems that can produce drugs to help the immune system battle disease, treat strokes, wounds, insect stings and pneumonia, among other things.

Reading this DARPA announcement made me wish I had paid more attention in high school biology.