Defense dept. courts commercial vendors to help defeat WMD threats.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: UP FRONT - Company Profile

The Pentagon is seeking "non-traditional" commercial suppliers of chemical and biological defense products. Of particular interest are vaccines, long-range sensors that can detect unknown deadly agents and warning systems that can alert potential victims of a bio-warfare attack.

Backed by a $400 million annual budget for research and development, the Defense Threats Reduction Agency plans to lure contractors who so far have been reluctant to work with the U.S. government.

DTRA, based in Fort Belvoir, Va., took charge of the chemical and biological defense research program in 2002. Since then, it has found that the cadre of suppliers the Pentagon usually relies upon is not enough to meet the agency's growing demands for innovative technologies, officials said.

"As we have begun to take a leadership role, we believe it's necessary to have access to traditional and non-traditional contractors," said John Connell, who runs the chemical-biological defense technology transition division at DTRA.

In early September, DTRA released a so-called "sources sought" solicitation intended to attract commercial suppliers that generally would not consider getting involved in Pentagon programs.

"We are confident we can tap into new vendors," said Connell.

The solicitation asked companies to inform DTRA of what products and technologies they are capable of delivering in three key areas:

* Medical Technologies: Diagnostics, therapeutics treatments and drugs to treat victims of biological attacks.

* Devices: Detectors of chemical and biological agents, decontamination systems, models and simulations of emerging threats.

* Technology Transition: Adapting technologies from the lab to military and homeland defense applications.

The solicitation generated a large number of responses, which were due November 10, said Connell. An "industry day" conference with interested contractors is planned for early December.

DTRA's funding, he noted, will be split between private-sector contracts and Defense Department government lab contracts. "We work with industry, academia, Defense Department and national laboratories," Connell said. The agency expects to award several contracts by Sept. 2006.

The solicitation primarily seeks products and technologies for military applications, but that could change as the Defense Department takes over new...