Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise

The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) is a coordinated interagency effort which is responsible for:

• Defining and prioritizing requirements for public health emergency medical Countermeasures;
• Focusing research, development, and procurement activities on the identified Requirements; and
• Establishing deployment and use strategies for medical countermeasures in the Strategic National Stockpile.

The PHEMCE is led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and includes three primary HHS internal agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The PHEMCE also includes key interagency partners:  the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture. Together, the PHEMCE organizations and agencies work to optimize our preparedness for public health emergencies with respect to the creation, stockpiling, and use of medical countermeasures. 

The PHEMCE has taken a holistic, end-to-end approach to planning that  considers multiple aspects of the medical countermeasures mission.  The HHS PHEMCE Strategy for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Threats establishes the goals and objectives that HHS will use to ensure that medical countermeasures are available for effective use against the highest priority CBRN threats facing the Nation.  The HHS PHEMCE Implementation Plan for CBRN Threats is a prioritized plan with near-, mid-, and long-term goals  for research, development, and acquisition of medical countermeasures.

The PHEMCE is led by the Enterprise Governance Board (EGB), which is responsible for coordinating the research, development, regulation, procurement, stockpiling, and deployment of medical countermeasures needed to protect the public in the event of a public health emergency.

The EGB is chaired by ASPR and BARDA has played a leadership role in managing the EGB on behalf of the ASPR, coordinating the Enterprise-directed mission critical activities for CBRN medical countermeasures.  However, BARDA anticipates transitioning that role to the ASPR Office of Policy and Strategic Planning.

BARDA also chairs the Enterprise Executive Committee (EEC), which implements tactical activities from EGB-directed strategic policies. BARDA will continue management of the EEC.