Biological and chemical threats

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has developed guidance on the use of medicines for treatment and prevention in case of exposure to biological or chemical agents used for terrorism, crime or warfare. This guidance is meant to support the routine preparedness activities of public health authorities across the European Union (EU).

The two guidance documents - one for biological and one for chemical agents - provide an overview of medicines to be used for treatment and prophylaxis in case of exposure to biological or chemical agents released deliberately.

These treatment options should always be considered in conjunction with existing national recommendations and public health plans.

EMA’s Emergency Task Force (ETF) developed and adopted the two guidance documents. ETF consulted over 50 experts throughout the revision process, including toxicology, pharmacology, clinical management and military specialists. This is in line with EMA's reinforced mandate on managing health threats.

For more information, see: 

• Crisis preparedness and management
• Emergency Task Force (ETF)

Biological agents

EMA has created two resources providing information on medicines that can be used to prevent or treat the effects of biological agents:

• a database of scientific information on pathogenic agents that might be deliberately released;
• information on the existence of vaccines and other medicines available to prevent or treat their effects.

At the request of the European Commission, EMA has published guidance on the use of medicines for the treatment and prevention of biological agents.

EMA published the first version in 2002 and has updated the guidance regularly since then.

The version revised in July 2024 uses the disease categorisation developed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

EMA guidance on the use of medicinal products for treatment and prophylaxis in case of exposure to biological agents used as weapons of terrorism, crime or warfare

Reference Number: EMA/323691/2024 Corr.

Superseded - EMA guidance on use of medicinal products for the treatment and prophylaxis of biological agents that might be used as weapons of bioterrorism

Reference Number: CPMP/4048/01 Rev. 6

Chemical agents

EMA has produced guidance on the medicines that can be used to treat patients who have been exposed to chemical agents during terrorist attacks. It includes:

• general information on emergency treatments such as decontamination of victims and principles of treating symptoms for the purposes of basic life support;
• summary information, including on toxicity, clinical symptoms and possible treatments, on the main classes of chemical agents that might be deliberately released.

EMA published the guidance in April 2003 and updated it in July 2024:

EMA guidance on the use of medicinal products for treatment in case of exposure to chemical agents used as weapons of terrorism, crime, or warfare

Reference Number: EMA/323692/2024 Corr.

Superseded - EMA guidance on the use of medicinal products for the treatment of patients exposed to terrorist attacks with chemical agents

Reference Number: EMEA/CPMP/1255/03