MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SRI International has been awarded a contract worth up to $100.5 million over 10 years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This new award will allow SRI to continue a program that supports NIAID’s Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) in the translation of basic research into clinical applications. Since 2006, SRI has worked on more than 100 DMID projects to advance therapeutics for a broad range of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, Chagas disease, methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA), and broad-spectrum antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral agents.
This contract supports preclinical development of drugs to treat a wide range of diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, toxins, drug-resistant organisms, and bioterrorism agents. As part of the new award, SRI will provide services in four major areas to move potential drugs from early-stage discovery to clinical assessment: drug discovery support; formulation development, analytical chemistry, and clinical manufacturing; toxicology and pharmacology; and regulatory assessment and product feasibility.
“SRI is honored to have been selected to perform this important work to further advance the DMID translational program,” said Jon Mirsalis, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., managing director of SRI’s Biosciences Division and principal investigator of this program. “SRI has been advancing cures for infectious disease for more than four decades, and our deep insight into the management and conduct of efficient and productive preclinical drug development programs will contribute to the important goals of the DMID program.”
SRI has been the major contractor to NIAID for the preclinical development of interventional agents for infectious diseases since the AIDS therapeutic development program began at NIAID in 1991. SRI holds similar development programs with the NCI, NHLBI, NIA, NIMH, NICHD, NINDS, and NIDA, making it the largest provider of preclinical resources to the NIH.
This project will be been funded in whole with Federal funds from the National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN2722011000221
About SRI’s Biosciences Division
SRI’s Biosciences Division carries out basic research, drug discovery, and drug development, and provides contract services. SRI has all of the resources necessary to take R&D from Idea to IND®from initial discovery to the start of human clinical trialsand specializes in cancer, immunology and inflammation, infectious disease, and neuroscience. SRI’s product pipeline has yielded marketed drugs, therapeutics currently in clinical trials, and additional programs in earlier stages. In its CRO business, SRI has helped government and other clients and partners advance well over 100 drugs into patient testing. SRI is also working to create the next generation of technologies in areas such as diagnostics, drug delivery, medical devices, and systems biology.
About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International, a nonprofit research and development organization, performs sponsored R&D for governments, businesses, and foundations. SRI brings its innovations to the marketplace through technology licensing, new products, and spin-off ventures. Commemorating its 65th anniversary in 2011, SRI is known for world-changing innovations in computing, health and pharmaceuticals, chemistry and materials, sensing, energy, education, national defense, and more.
SOURCE SRI International
