Battelle was notified recently that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a 10-year potential $257 million contract to support the management and operations of a National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) research lab.

The High Containment Integrated Research Facility is currently under construction and will be part of Fort Detrick’s National Interagency Biodefense Campus in Frederick, Maryland.  When fully functioning, Battelle will provide up to 119 scientists, researchers and technicians to staff the facility.  The lab is scheduled to open in fall of 2008.

Work performed at the lab will help develop knowledge that is crucial to the development of preventative and therapeutic strategies that will lead to improved medical outcomes in patient care and public health.

Battelle will lead a team of subcontractors which includes:  the Midwest Research Institute, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Charles River Laboratories, Tunnell Consulting, and the Washington Technology Group (WTG).

The Integrated Research Facility is being developed to carry out biodefense research needed to understand the clinical disease processes that correlate with the severity of microbial-induced disease. The core mission is to use hospital tools such as endoscopy, cardiac telemetry monitors and CT, MRI, SPECT, and PET imaging to systematically evaluate pathogenic processes.

“We are pleased to be selected to conduct this very important work,” said Steve McLaughlin, President of Battelle’s Health and Life Sciences Global Business.  “This type of research is technically challenging and critical to understanding the treatment of infectious disease.”

The biodefense campus at Ft. Detrick also includes the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC), managed by a Battelle subsidiary, Battelle National Biodefense Institute, LLC, (BNBI).