SeraCare Life Sciences awarded new contracts for HIV research

SeraCare Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRLS) today announced that the Company has been awarded two new contracts from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and that a third existing contract has been expanded by the NIH to support federally-funded HIV research and testing. These contracts represent a combined $10.8 million in new funding if all options are exercised over the life of the contracts.

“The government sector is an important customer of our services business and these recent awards demonstrate SeraCare’s fundamental role in the support of government-sponsored research projects and, specifically, our leadership position in providing the highest quality services in support of HIV research and testing,” said Susan Vogt, President and Chief Executive Officer of SeraCare Life Sciences. “Moreover, we believe these types of projects may increase given the influx of federal stimulus dollars for government sponsored research.”

Under a new contract awarded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as part of the CDC’s HIV-1 Rapid Test Proficiency Program, SeraCare will support efforts to ensure that laboratories performing HIV-1 assays are achieving accurate results. The Company will provide well characterized HIV-1 positive and negative plasma and will test, dispense and distribute panels to approximately 650 laboratories participating in this performance evaluation program, which is used as a self-assessment tool for facilities performing HIV-1 rapid testing. The five-year contract is valued at over $3.6 million if all options are exercised by the CDC.

Under a second new contract awarded by PPD, Inc. to support the NIH’s Division for HIV Clinical Research Support Services, SeraCare will collect, characterize, assemble and distribute a comprehensive panel of current worldwide HIV strains. These efforts are designed to establish a standardized set of viral reagents to help monitor and update blood screening and diagnostic assays—activities that play a critical role in insuring that the world’s blood supply is safe—and to assist in the development of vaccines for HIV. The 15 month contract is valued at $2 million.

Under an expanded, existing contract with the NIH to support the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Biologic Specimen Repository, Contract #N01-HB-87144, SeraCare will support the growth of the repository and quality control the historic AIDS and AIDS-related studies in the collection in preparation for anticipated broader use. The $5.2 million expansion increases the remaining value of the contract over the next two years to $6.3 million.

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