has been awarded two separate U.S. government contracts to improve health outcomes for armed forces service members and to help test the effectiveness of the nation’s stockpile of avian influenza vaccine to safeguard the public.

In one agreement, the Army selected PPD to provide medical product R&D services to enhance readiness, to ensure the provision of the highest-quality medical and preventative care and to maximize the survival of armed forces personnel on the battlefield. In the second agreement, PPD will leverage its robust vaccines capabilities as part of its association with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Medical Countermeasures Clinical Study Network, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The contract with the Army is an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) agreement, with a base period of five years with five one-year option periods. PPD will provide medical product development and lifecycle support for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Joint Project Manager and Medical Countermeasure Systems and other USAMRMC subordinate commands.

PPD will provide project management, technical expertise, strategic planning, market analysis and training, along with pharmaceutical testing, assay validation, validated storage and shipment, nonclinical testing and clinical development study support, integrated logistics, equipment maintenance, information technology and other capabilities.

For BARDA, PPD will evaluate the potency and long-term stability of H5N1 influenza (avian influenza) vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Strategic National Stockpile. The contract with BARDA is an IDIQ agreement for clinical study services, with a minimum period of performance of two years and a maximum period of five years.