Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBRs)—such as engineered pathogens or novel viruses—pose a severe threat to humanity. Current medical countermeasures often fail against these risks because they are too specific or can be easily bypassed by adversarial engineering. There’s a pressing need for adaptable, robust solutions that can quickly respond to unknown or deliberately designed biological threats.

A Two-Pronged Approach to Biological Defense

One way to address GCBRs could involve two complementary strategies:

• Targeted Countermeasures: Developing treatments for high-risk threats, like pan-coronavirus vaccines or therapies for engineered pathogens.
• Rapid Response Platforms: Modular technologies, such as mRNA vaccine design systems or CRISPR-based diagnostics, that can be quickly adapted to new threats. These platforms would prioritize non-viral delivery methods (e.g., lipid nanoparticles) to reduce risks associated with traditional viral vectors.

The goal would be to ensure these countermeasures remain effective even if a pathogen is deliberately modified to evade them.

Stakeholders and Execution Pathways

Governments, biodefense agencies, and pharmaceutical companies could benefit from such technologies. Governments might see it as a national security priority, while private firms could license the platforms for commercial use. A phased approach could start with a minimal viable product (MVP), like a rapid mRNA-based vaccine platform, followed by testing against engineered threats and eventual integration into public health infrastructure.

Balancing Innovation and Safety

While the idea offers significant advantages—like adaptability and adversarial robustness—it also carries risks, such as potential misuse. Strict access controls, ethical oversight, and collaboration with biosecurity experts could help mitigate these concerns. Existing efforts, like DARPA’s Pandemic Prevention Platform or Moderna’s mRNA technology, provide a foundation, but this proposal would extend their capabilities by explicitly accounting for engineered threats.

By focusing on scalable, adaptable solutions, this approach could help close critical gaps in global biodefense preparedness.