MILFORD, Mass., May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SeraCare Life Sciences announced today that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a new contract to SeraCare, replacing the current contract which expired on April 30, 2011. Under this contract, SeraCare, at the direction of the NHLBI, will advise on proper collection, processing and storage for biorepository collections. SeraCare will also continue to acquire, store and distribute biospecimens to the scientific community for use in research related to transfusion-transmitted diseases and a variety of other disorders of the blood and the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The contract is valued at $17.6 million over a five-year term, for an average of $3.5 million per year, if all options are exercised by the NHLBI.

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"The National Institutes of Health is a long-standing, highly valued customer of SeraCare's services business and its commitment to a continued relationship speaks to SeraCare's exemplary leadership in this space," said Susan Vogt, President and Chief Executive Officer of SeraCare. "SeraCare's biorepository is a best-in-class facility. We store and manage more than 15 million biological samples for government and commercial customers that are critical for scientific research, disease control, drug and diagnostic development and national defense. Our relationship with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has been in place for more than 12 years and we are pleased to continue this important strategic collaboration."

This project has been funded in whole with Federal funds from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No.HHSN268201100031C.

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