Kromek wins $5.9m contract with US Department of Homeland Security

Radiation detection solutions group Kromek has been awarded a $5.9m contract from the US Department of Homeland Security for the research and development of technologies focusing on an agent-agnostic bio-detection system.

Kromek said on Thursday that the contract, secured with the DHS' Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, was awarded under a four-year programme which begins immediately. The company expects to receive $874,000 during the first year base period.

Chief executive Arnab Basu said this was Kromek's first biosecurity contract from the Department of Homeland Security and underscored its belief that there were "significant market opportunities" in the area.

Basu said: "This programme directly addresses a CWMD Office priority focused on the detection, classification and identification of bioterrorism attacks. Biological threats are an increasing priority for governments, particularly in light of the pandemic.

"The output of the programme is aimed at providing increased capability to detect and identify biological threats in response to the operational needs of the Department of Homeland Security and will be an important step in making the world safer from the threat of bioterrorism and other biological threats."

As of 1050 BST, Kromek shares were up 14.12% at 4.74p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com