The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command awarded four new contracts July 31 for the development of its military-relevant medical products including drugs, vaccines, devices and biologics.

The contracts will speed the process in which military medical products move through the development process and progress through U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance or approval prior to fielding the product or knowledge to the Warfighter.

"In order to better protect our Warfighters, save lives and restore function after injury or illness, the USAMRMC must be able to move medical devices, drugs and vaccines forward to FDA approval and commercial availability as efficiently as possible," said Dr. Kenneth Bertram, USAMRMC principal assistant for acquisition. "In the past we have had to contract each piece of this process individually. With these new contracts, we will be able to 'bundle' the work efforts and streamline the process, resulting in quicker delivery of needed medical solutions to the warfighter and our medical teams."

The contract awardees include Dynport Vaccine Company, Leidos, Pharmaceutical Product Development, and Engility.

Prior to the award of the contracts, completing the product development lifecycle included a variety of contracting vehicles at the USAMRMC. Now, the new contracts' scope of work allows the four awardees to complete various tasks without the USAMRMC preparing separate contracts for each portion in the product development lifecycle.

"The Army will be saving time, money and resources with these contracts," said Bertram. "The Warfighter, the Army and the Nation will all benefit."