SRI International Awarded Two BARDA Contracts to Provide Nonclinical Research Services

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SRI International has been awarded two contracts worth up to $90 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Under the base five-year (60 month) contracts, SRI will provide a broad suite of nonclinical research services to evaluate and advance compounds with potential to treat victims of biological, radiation, nuclear and chemical agents that can be used in terrorist attacks.

BARDA, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is dedicated to developing medical countermeasures (MCMs) to protect civilians from adverse health effects resulting from exposure to chemical, biological, and radiological or radionuclide agents. SRI will conduct safety testing and pharmacologic analysis of multiple medical countermeasures currently in the BARDA portfolio, with the aim of helping move these potential agents from early stage discovery into the clinic under an FDA-approved Investigational New Drug (IND) application. SRI will also provide, as needed, ongoing services to support an eventual New Drug Application (NDA) or Biologic License Application (BLA).

Deborah Bunin, Ph.D., will serve as principal investigator for a BARDA contract comprising Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)-compliant nonclinical toxicology services to support development of new or existing MCMs. 

"SRI is pleased to be able to expand our ongoing relationship with BARDA, offering additional testing capabilities to thoroughly evaluate the safety of potential medical countermeasures before they are tested in humans," said Dr. Bunin, director of Molecular Toxicology, SRI Biosciences.

The second BARDA contract, which will be led by Principal Investigator Carol Green, Ph.D., DABT, director of Preclinical Development at SRI, involves GLP facilities to develop, validate and apply analytical methods for evaluating biological distribution and determining appropriate dose levels for achieving drug efficacy.

"Drug-safety testing is only part of the equation. It is critical with medical countermeasures to be able to accurately measure drug levels in blood and tissues," said Dr. Green. "SRI will provide BARDA with a broad range of sophisticated testing capabilities to enable these analyses."

These projects are being funded in whole with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract Nos. HHSO100201700020I and HHSO100201700020I.

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About SRI Biosciences
SRI Biosciences, a division of SRI International, integrates basic biomedical research with drug and diagnostics discovery and preclinical and clinical development. SRI International, a research center headquartered in Menlo Park, California, creates world-changing solutions to make people safer, healthier, and more productive.

SOURCE SRI International

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