Report
June 2026

Promote the Antidote: Reducing the Risk from Toxins

Table of Contents

  • BACKGROUND
  • INTRODUCTION
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • CONCLUSION
  • ACRONYMS
  • METHODOLOGY
  • ENDNOTES

Commissioners

Thomas J. Ridge, Chair
Donna E. Shalala, Chair
Thomas A. Daschle
Frederick S. Upton
Anna A. Eshoo
James C. Greenwood
Susan W. Brooks
Kenneth L. Wainstein
Margaret A. Hamburg
Rajesh R. Panjabi

Ex Officio Members

William B. Karesh, DVM
Rachel Levinson, MA
I. Lewis Libby, JD

Staff

Asha M. George, DrPH, Executive Director
John T. O’Brien, Associate Director
Robert H. Bradley, Associate Director
Wendy Villalta, Assistant Director

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The commission acknowledges Emil von Behring, Adolf Baginsky, Alexandre Besredka, Michal Bijak, André Boivin, Marc-Michael Blum, Ludwig Brieger, Etienne Burnet, Antonio Cantani, Rachel Carson, Giuseppina Cattani, Eugenio Centanni, Michal Ceremuga, Emile Césari, Jan Danysz, Sambhu Nath De, Pierre Descombey, Paul Ehrlich, Steve M. Ensley, Fanny Ewann, Knud Faber, Nikolaï GamaleÏa, James Giordano, Thomas Glenny, Alice Hamilton, Ziad Kazzi, Shibasaburo Kitasato, Edyta Janik, Kelly Johnson-Arbor, Constant Jouan, Robert P. Kadlec, Gregory D. Koblentz, Albert Lafaille, Jennifer van de Ligt, Auguste-Charles Marie, Louis Martin, Ion Mesrobeanu, Lydia Mesrobeanu, Elie Metchnikoff, Maurice Nicolle, Edmond Nocard, Mathieu Orfila, Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), Gerald W. Parker, Richard Pfeiffer, Bernardo Ramazzini, Gaston Ramon, Émile Roux, Sir Marc Armand Ruffer, Joanna Saluk-Bijak, Kenneth Staley, Thomas Stevenson, Jerry Thomas, Guido Tizzoni, Eugene Tracey, Louis Vaillard, David Walton, Cyril Wecht, Alexandre Yersin, R. Timothy Ziemer, and Christian Zoeller for their efforts to increase our understanding of toxins and the threats they pose to humans, animals, and plants. We thank our ex officio members for their advice and input. Lastly, the commission expresses its gratitude for the financial support provided by its donors.

Copyright © 2026 by the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense
All rights reserved.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/scowcroft-center-for-strategy-and-security/bipartisan-commission-onbiodefense/

Graphics and design by Atlantic Council.
Base cover image courtesy of Adobe Stock Images.

Suggested Citation
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council. (2026). Promote the Antidote: Reducing the Risk from Toxins. Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council: Washington, DC.