News Release
U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Public Affairs Office
504 Scott St.
Fort Detrick, Md.
Point of Contact:
Deputy Public Affairs Officer
U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
301-619-2736
For Immediate Release -- March 21, 2012
MCM-T&E Facility Refinement Study Results
(Fort Detrick, Md.) - The U.S. Army completed a requirements refinement study to forecast the demand for a Biological Safety Level -3 and BSL-4 animal test and evaluation laboratory. The study assessed the existing capacity within government, industry, and academic laboratories to support this demand. Previous studies identified a significant gap that resulted in the concept for the Medical Countermeasures Test and Evaluation Facility.
Based on the most current findings of the study, the U.S. Army will not build a new MCM-T&E Facility but will expand test and evaluation capability using current facilities.
"The demand for this building is not as originally estimated. We will be using existing facilities which will save taxpayers $1 billion over the next 10 years," said Kathleen Berst, project manager for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity.
This decision will help close the research gap and meet the national demand to conduct testing and evaluation of medical countermeasures in BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories.
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