The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded a contract to United States-based SRI International to support the research and development of radiation/nuclear medical countermeasures, it was reported on Wednesday.

The contract is valued at up to USD100m.

According to the contract, SRI Biosciences is to offer facilities, expertise, and capabilities to advance the development of radiation/nuclear medical countermeasures for the mitigation or treatment of acute radiation syndromes and the treatment of delayed effects from acute radiation exposure and internal radionuclide contamination. The company's researchers will also support NIH's NIAID' ongoing biodosimetry efforts.