Social & Scientific Systems (SSS) was recently awarded a seat on the $430 million, 7-year General Clinical Research Support Services indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC), part of the National Institutes of Health. The Institute leads research to understand, treat, and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.

SSS is a health research organization with a mission to improve public health worldwide by providing support to government and commercial clients in public health research and policy. SSS has offices in Silver Spring, Md.; Durham, N.C.; and Kampala, Uganda; and provides field support around the world.

TheIDIQ will fund work to support translational and clinical research within the VRC by facilitating rapid responses to urgent research demands. The contract will provide a variety of services to coordinate clinical trial activities including site activation, protocol management, and regulatory and logistical support. Most of the early tasks are expected to be for Phase I vaccine studies, with some larger Phase II and IIb studies possible in the future. Ongoing VRCresearch efforts are aimed at developing and evaluating candidate vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for infectious diseases such as HIV, influenza, Ebola, Zika, malaria, and chikungunya.

“SSS researchers have been working with NIAID for more than 30 years,” said SSS President and CEO Kevin Beverly.“We’re excited about this opportunity to contribute our extensive clinical research experience in support of the VRC’s efforts to address diseases of global importance.”