FDA system will track imports

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The Food and Drug Administration has awarded a $2 million contract to SRA International Inc. to help develop a Web-enabled system to track imports of food, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

SRA announced the award Oct. 28 under the Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 2 (CIO-SP2), a contracting vehicle run by the National Institutes of Health.

Ken Rohrer, deputy director for SRA's health systems business unit, said the 11-month project is the first phase in the FDA plan to move to Web-enabled applications that can be accessed from anywhere around the world.

"It is a tracking system to track the foods and drugs from other countries and understand where they are coming in and moving through the states," Rohrer said.

The FDA has 20 district offices in five regions. The Web-based system will help the agency keep track of information, especially in the event of a recall.

Under the contract, SRA will develop the system requirements and architecture for the FDA's Mission Accomplishment and Regulatory Compliance System (MARCS). SRA services will include IT requirements, engineering, business modeling, integration for FDA's technical architecture and security planning.