Before COVID, CBRN defence was a niche market dominated by a handful of specialised firms. After COVID, every EU member state increased its biosecurity budget. HERA has €6B for health emergency preparedness. CBRN detection and response is now a mainstream procurement category. And Europe doesn't have enough suppliers.
What the supply chain needs
- Rapid detection: field-deployable systems for pathogen, chemical, and radiological identification in minutes, not hours
- Environmental monitoring: continuous air, water, and surface monitoring for critical facilities
- Decontamination: scalable systems for buildings, vehicles, equipment, and personnel
- Medical countermeasures: therapeutics, vaccines, and prophylactics for CBRN exposure
- Personal protection: next-generation PPE, respirators, and protective garments
Why biotech startups have an advantage
Traditional CBRN suppliers build ruggedised military equipment. It's expensive, slow to deploy, and designed for specialised operators. What first responders and civilian infrastructure actually need is technology that's fast, affordable, and usable by non-specialists. That's exactly what biotech startups build for the healthcare market.
Your point-of-care diagnostic is faster than any military CBRN detector. Your biosensor is cheaper than legacy monitoring equipment. Your decontamination chemistry was designed for hospitals where speed and safety matter. These advantages translate directly to the CBRN supply chain.
Entry points
Join an EU-funded CBRN project to demonstrate your technology in a relevant scenario. HERA runs procurement calls for pandemic preparedness products. National civil protection agencies buy CBRN equipment annually. Each path leads to recurring revenue in a market that only grows as threats multiply.
Check if your technology qualifies
Free eligibility check. We analyse your profile against open EU dual-use funding opportunities and get back to you within 48 hours.
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