A Medical Device Daily
Caliper Life Sciences (Hopkinton, Massachusetts) reported that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has awarded the company a contract valued at up to $7 million covering a period of up to 10 years at the option of NIEHS.
Xenogen Biosciences, the in vivo drug discovery services arm of Caliper Discovery Alliances & Services (CDAS), will supply NIEHS investigators with genetically-modified mouse models for research purposes.
The NIEHS focuses its research on the environment and its impact on human health and disease. Working with genetically modified mouse models, including transgenic and gene knockout, enables NIEHS to conduct research aimed at identifying and potentially preventing hazardous conditions and exposure in humans, the organization said. Beginning immediately, Caliper will develop mouse models based on the needs of the research teams at the NIEHS.
Caliper says it has produced more than 9,000 mouse and rat models, some of which were previously supplied to the NIEHS under a previous multi-year agreement.
“This contract is the second significant win for our services business in recent months, following the in vitro Environmental Protection Agency contract announced earlier in the second quarter,” said Kevin Hrusovsky, CEO of Caliper. “Our contract with the NIEHS builds on our existing relationship with this organization and further validates the capabilities of our services organization and the increasing industry demand that is fueling our growth.”
CDAS is the services organization created from the integration of NovaScreen Biosciences and Xenogen. NovaScreen was acquired by Caliper in October 2005 (Medical Device Daily, Oct. 6, 2005) and Xenogen was acquired by Caliper in August 2006 (MDD, Aug. 14, 2006).
In other contract news:
• Computer Sciences (CSC; El Segundo, California) reported that it is one of 16 firms selected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide information technology (IT) services for its Enterprise Systems Development program.
The total ceiling value of the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for all 16 firms, which has a one-year base period and nine one-year options, is $4 billion. Computer Sciences estimates the total potential value of its portion of the contract, which will be derived from bidding and winning competitive delivery orders, to be $200 million.
The company will provide software development and maintenance, and systems integration for CMS. In addition, Computer Sciences will continue its 10-year support of CMS software initiatives, including the development and deployment of the Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug system (MARx) and maintenance of the Common Working File.
Computer Sciences is an IT services company.
• SeraCare Life Sciences (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts) said it has been awarded a seven-year contract valued at $23.7 million to provide management and oversight of disease-study specimens for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Division of AIDS (DAIDS). NIAD is a component of the National Institutes of Health.
SeraCare will provide cataloging, processing, labeling, storage and dispersal of specimens for DAIDS. The company will also provide technical support and training to NIH collaborators and investigators on issues related to specimen processing and handling.