The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Plains Area awarded a $75,000 firm fixed-price purchase order to Aptagen LLC on April 11, 2024, for the development of a glyphosate aptamer. The aptamer must be capable of detecting glyphosate while demonstrating no homology to the potato genome to support quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) applications for the Sugarbeet and Potato Unit in Fargo, North Dakota. This small business set-aside contract, issued under Solicitation Number 12805B24Q0186, was awarded based on lowest price technically acceptable criteria, with past performance considered as an evaluation factor. The contract is scheduled for completion by February 28, 2025.
Aptagen LLC, a specialized biotechnology firm headquartered in Jacobus, Pennsylvania, brings over 30 years of expertise in aptamer development and synthetic antibody creation. The company has established a track record of federal contract performance across multiple agencies, including the USDA, FDA, Defense Health Agency, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This award aligns with the USDA-ARS's agricultural research objectives and Aptagen's demonstrated capabilities in developing custom DNA aptamer libraries for scientific and regulatory applications in agricultural genomics research.