The next groundbreaking treatment for COVID and flu variants, Ebola virus and even forms of cancer might get the support it needs in Rockville.

As the biopharmaceutical industry has evolved, companies have opted against having their own facilities for developing and testing potential treatments and medicines.

Instead, they are contracting with places like IBT Bioservices, a roughly 20-year-old research organization that serves as a one-stop shop for developing substance samples that could one day be biomedical breakthroughs. IBT also helps companies navigate complex testing and approval processes as they look to bring treatments to market.

IBT Bioservices, which employs about 30 people, has had recent setbacks. Executives have seen demand decline as President Donald Trump and his administration have dramatically scaled back on health research spending.

But Rick Holtsberg, chief scientific officer for IBT, is still optimistic about the future of his company and his field.

“The initial shock of change kind of just stops people in their tracks. But then as that fades, people go back to doing what they’re doing,” he said. “There’s companies that will not be able to weather the storm. But I think those that do will come back stronger.”

If you were speaking about the company to someone who is wholly unfamiliar with the space that you guys operate in, what’s your elevator pitch?

As a contract research organization, IBT is facilitating companies to be successful in finding their drug product and [going] to the FDA so that it can then become a commercial product.

Our goal is also to give companies that are developing vaccines, that are developing therapeutics for infectious disease — or, we’re now even moving into oncology — the support that they need so that they can be successful.

Have you noticed any shift in outside support, whether financial or just interest-wise, with the current administration in Washington?

It’s unfortunately affected us more than most because we were working with a lot of companies that were in that messenger RNA space. The interest has been reduced from companies coming to us and saying, “Hey, can you do this work for us?”

It’s not completely gone away. But I think because of the current administration, there is less interest. I think because of the policies — I won’t say policies, but the current environment of the administration on vaccines — it’s become difficult to continue to grow as a company.

We were poised to really expand this year, and I think because of that, we’ve not seen that expansion. So that’s part of it, in that there’s less interest. But I wouldn’t say the interest has gone away.

Where do you see the focus going?

As far as vaccines, I think there’s still a huge interest in treating antibiotic resistance, and there’s vaccines that are out that are trying to address that.

New therapeutics to treat infectious disease, I think, will be a much broader target, and looking at safety signals and making sure that they’re safe.

Coming from a vaccine company and spending a significant amount of my career on vaccines, I’ve looked at the research, and I think vaccines are safe.

What we as scientists need to make sure is that we are educating and being open about this work.

What makes you optimistic about the future?

IBT has been involved in trying to grow as a [contract research organization] and as a company, and we’ve expanded into different areas like oncology and immunotherapies. And those areas are still growing, and I think that’s going to be a focus. So I’m optimistic about that.

I’m actually optimistic about the offerings that we do have, like looking at therapies and vaccines for influenza or for RSV [respiratory syncytial virus]. We have very good models and people are still coming to us for that. And I do believe the administration will turn back towards those things.

I mean, [the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] is not going to disappear.

One other thing I want to be sure to touch on is the company’s experience operating as a business in Montgomery County, specifically. General thoughts?

This area, this whole [U.S.] 270 corridor, including Montgomery County, is rich with biotech companies. And I think Montgomery County, I mean, Maryland, as well as Montgomery County, is an untapped resource.

You see the Boston area always talked about, or you hear about the West Coast and San Francisco and then [Research Triangle Park in North Carolina].

Maryland has the potential to do that, and I’m actually very hopeful. I see things like [Rockville Economic Development], or [Maryland] Tech Council, you have [the venture capital company] TEDCO, all trying to promote companies within Montgomery County, within Maryland as a whole.

That will continue to grow. I really believe it’s still an untapped resource.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.