Chemical Countermeasures Collaboration: Chemical Threats Affecting the Skin, Eyes, and Mucous Membranes

Office Of The Director, National Institutes Of Health

Investigators

Abstract

The projects under this IAA has been developed jointly by the NIAID/NIH CCRP and DoD/USAMRICD. Chemical Threats Affecting the Skin, Eyes, and Mucous Membranes will be addressed under the scope of this IAA. The proposed new and continuing projects directly address the need to discover medical countermeasures against Chemicals of Concern (CoC) that have identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as threats to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. These CoCs include chemical warfare agents, pesticides, and various toxic industrial chemical/materials. As such, the research purpose of this interagency agreement is to develop in vitro, in vivo, and/or ex vivo models of the acute and/or chronic long-term toxic effect of exposure to the chemical threats for the purpose of medical countermeasure development. Research under this IAA will focus on toxic chemicals specifically sulfur mustard, chloropicrin, hydrogen fluoride, and acrolein. The rational discovery and development of MCM products to be used as a therapeutic against chemicals affecting the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes requires an understanding of the mechanisms of toxicity. This IAA may utilize state-of-the-art toxicological, biochemical, physiological, genomic and electron microscopic evaluation approaches to elucidate the molecular mechanism to support the efficacy testing. All research and development activities supported under this IAA will address the acute and/or long-term or delayed chronic needs of the civilian population, i.e., to reduce mortality or serious morbidity during and/or after exposure to the chemical threat. The route and time(s) of administration of the therapeutic are consistent with the intended use in humans, including the likely environment where the drug would be administered (pre-hospital or in-hospital settings). Animal model development, screening activity, and efficacy studies will be designed to align with these ultimate concept-of-use requirements.