SRA will help FDA automate field inspection operations

SRA International Inc. will design and implement information technology solutions for the Food and Drug Administration under a five-year contract that could be worth as much as $98 million.

The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity Mission Accomplishment and Regulatory Compliance Services (MARCS) Integration Contract comes from the Interior Department’s National Business Center Acquisition Services Directorate at Herndon, Va.

As a result, SRA will work with FDA’s Offices of Regulatory Affairs and Information Management to design, develop and implement IT solutions that better automate field operations both domestically and abroad.

Automation operations solutions will cover inspections, sample collection and analysis, import screening and review, recalls, and their relationships with compliance activities.

The award also includes work planning, scheduling and performance information related to those activities and their management.

The contract is intended to help FDA enhance its capabilities to meet congressional mandates and public expectations, an SRA statement Wednesday said.

Food safety violations resulting in threats to public health are front-page news, and domestic as well as imported products that FDA regulates pose a greater threat to the nation than ever before, the announcement added.

Legislation such as the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 and the pending Food Safety Enhancement Act have expanded FDA’s regulatory authority to address these concerns and also have expanded the workload of the Offices of Regulatory Affairs and Information Management.

SRA’s partners on the contract include Emergint Inc., Everware CBDI, Guident Technologies, IntegrityOne Partners, Mythics Inc., NTELX, Neilson Consulting; and Quality Resource Systems Inc.

SRA International, of Fairfax, Va., ranks No. 26 on Washington Technology’s 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.