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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded Battelle National Biodefense Institute (BNBI) the contract to manage the new National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC), a federally funded research and development center at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md. The $250-million contract award includes a five-year period of performance, with the potential for five subsequent one-year extensions, bringing the projected award value to $500-million. The NBACC, scheduled to open in 2008, will be the nation's premier research facility for biological threat characterization and bioforensic research. BNBI is the limited liability company formed by Battelle to manage the lab. During the two years prior to completion of the new facility, BNBI will manage ongoing NBACC work from an office in Frederick, Md.

The 160,000-sf lab, which will employ approximately 120 people, will become part of the biodefense campus that includes the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. The NBACC's mission is to protect human health and agriculture against biological terrorism by improving understanding of potential bioterrorism threats. Battelle is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.