SRA signs on for CDC lab support services

SRA International Inc. will continue furnishing laboratory support services to a key program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under a five-year, $24.9 million contract.

SRA will provide the services for CDC's Select Agent Program, which regulates certain agents and toxins that pose a severe threat to public health and safety.

Under the contract, SRA will continue helping CDC track the possession, use and transfer of toxic agents within the United States, company officials said. The work entails registering and inspecting facilities that handle those agents and certifying that laboratories follow biosafety and biosecurity measures. The work also includes processing transfer requests, tracking shipments and helping administer the Etiologic Agent Import Permit Program, which helps control the import of agents or vectors of human disease into the country.

SRA has supported the CDC program since 2002. The agency has expanded the scope of work by putting SRA in charge of all records and data associated with the program.

SRA, of Fairfax, Va., ranks No. 32 on Washington Technology's 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.