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Battelle Wins Contract To Operate
National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center
(Dec. 20, 2006) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
announced today that Battelle National Biodefense Institute
(BNBI) has been selected to manage the new National Biodefense
Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC), a Federally
Funded Research and Development Center.
The $250 million contract award includes a five-year period
of performance, with the potential for five subsequent one-year
extensions, bringing the projected award value to $500 million.
The NBACC, scheduled to open in 2008, will be the nation's
premier research facility for biological threat characterization
and bioforensic research. BNBI is the limited liability company
formed by Battelle to manage the lab. During the two years
prior to completion of the new facility, BNBI will manage
ongoing NBACC work from an office in Frederick, MD.
The lab, which will employ approximately 120 people, is
under construction in Frederick, Maryland at Fort Detrick.
The 160,000-square-foot facility will become part of the biodefense
campus that includes the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the U.S. Army Medical Research
Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).
Battelle, a research and technology development organization,
has a long history of innovations across a wide array of scientific
disciplines including research in countermeasures to chemical
and biological weapons. Battelle also manages or co-manages
five national laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The NBACC's mission is to protect human health and agriculture
against biological terrorism by improving understanding of
potential bioterrorism threats.
"We're proud to have been selected to operate this
lab. The NBACC mission is a critical part of our nation's
security," said Battelle President and CEO Carl Kohrt.
"The NBACC lab represents a new approach to integrating
national resources for homeland security in support of public
health, law enforcement, and national security."
The BNBI management team is led by Laboratory Director Patrick
Fitch, Battelle VP for Biodefense Programs, who has more than
20 years of experience leading national defense and other
scientific research programs at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory.
Battelle is the world's largest non-profit independent research
and development organization, with 20,000 employees in more
than 120 locations worldwide, including five national laboratories
Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of
Energy. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle conducts
$3.7 billion in R&D annually through contract research,
laboratory management, and technology commercialization. Battelle
provides innovative solutions to some of the world's most
important problems including global climate change, sustainable
energy technologies, high performance materials, next generation
healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics, and advanced security
solutions for people, infrastructure, and the nation. Battelle
has a long history of developing successful commercial products
in collaboration with its clients, ranging from products to
fight diabetes, cancer, and heart disease to the development
of the office copier machine (Xerox). As a non-profit charitable
trust with an eye toward the future, Battelle actively supports
and promotes science and math education.
For more information, visit www.battelle.org
or contact National Media Relations Manager Katy Delaney at
(410) 306-8638 or at delaneyk@battelle.org
or Mark Berry at (614) 424-5544 or berrym@battelle.org.
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