Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to announce another global priority bid win.

CDC Awards Abt a Multi-Year, Multi-Study Contract to Determine Vaccine and Antiviral Effectiveness in Combatting Respiratory Infections

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded Abt Associates a five-year, $51.6 million contract to establish the research infrastructure for epidemiologic studies of novel influenza virus infections, (including nH7N9 Influenza) and the evaluation of antiviral and vaccine effectiveness.  Abt will plan and conduct these studies for various settings and populations, including inpatient, outpatient, communities and pregnant women and infants.

As the current contractor for three CDC-funded influenza vaccine effectiveness studies in pregnant women, children and healthcare workers, Abt will expand an existing infrastructure to launch studies during any upcoming respiratory disease pandemic. 

“Because influenza seasons typically persist only two to four months in any given community, Abt’s experience in conducting large-scale epidemiologic studies during a pandemic will assure that study preparation and implementation is fast, nimble and flexible, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of new vaccines and antivirals,” said Pat Shifflett, vice president, principal associate and current project director for the Pregnancy Influenza Project. 

This is a collaborative effort between U.S. Health (USH) and Abt SRBI, and builds on current and previous influenza studies for the CDC, thereby establishing Abt as the market leader in vaccine effectiveness research.

“This is a critical award for continuing our work in support of vaccination initiatives and can be leveraged to other agencies and donor organizations. For CDC, we offer a platform for engaging the thought leadership necessary to contribute to the knowledge base of conducting influenza studies during a pandemic,” said Deborah Klein Walker, Ed.D, vice president, senior fellow and practice leader of Abt’s Public Health and Epidemiology Practice in USH.

Just as “it takes a village to raise a child” it took a large team to strategize, write and finalize a winning proposal (both technical and business).  Congratulations to the entire capture and proposal team led by Pat Shifflett (technical lead), Rick Tessier (proposal manager), and Courtney Long (business volume manager and pricing lead). This successful proposal would not have been possible without the critical participation of Abt SRBI, whose collaboration efforts were led by Andy Weiss.

Best Regards,

Jay

Note: This email was sent BCC: to All Staff Abt, All Abt JTA, All Abt SRBI

Jay L. Knott | Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer | Abt Associates

O: 301-347-5896| F: 301-828-9739 | www.abtassociates.com