American Foundation For Biological Research

American Foundation For Biological Research, operating as the Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), is a non-profit research organization headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, that produces and distributes live parasites, infected animal models, and specialized biological reagents to support federal infectious disease research as a prime contractor (96% of awards) and occasional subcontractor. BRI competes full-and-open, without set-aside designation, across its federal footprint.

BRI's core capability centers on parasitology and schistosomiasis research support. The organization propagates three medically important Schistosoma species — S. haematobium, S. japonicum, and S. mansoni — and distributes infected hosts (rodents and snails) and life-cycle stage reagents including parasites, eggs, and miracidia to the federal research community. BRI also maintains a repository of drug-resistant and drug-susceptible S. mansoni lines, including praziquantel-enhanced resistant, praziquantel-enhanced susceptible, and oxamniquine-resistant parasites, to support research on new drug candidates. Representative prime work includes a $429 thousand firm-fixed-price purchase order from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded August 2024 for maintenance of the S. mansoni parasite lifecycle and delivery of 1.2 million eggs annually through August 2029; a $4.83 million delivery order from NIAID under the Preclinical Models of Infectious Diseases indefinite delivery contract for maintenance, development, and production of schistosomiasis parasites, reagents, and assays (completion January 2026); and a $507 thousand purchase order from NIAID for live S. mansoni cercariae supporting schistosomiasis vaccine research (completion May 2027).

NIAID dominates BRI's customer concentration. NIAID and its subordinate procurement offices account for all 100% of combined potential value across the vendor's award portfolio, with NIAID's base entity holding 16 awards worth $221.1 million combined potential value and NIAID's DEA Acquisitions office holding 9 awards worth $28.2 million. The Department of the Navy ranks second by award count (31 awards) but carries minimal dollar value. BRI also receives grant funding: a $1.8 million five-year project grant from NIAID under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) awarded July 2026 funds continued operation of the Schistosomiasis Resource Center through June 2031, including propagation of multiple species for distribution, conversion of Biomphalaria glabrata production to a recirculating aquaria system, and expanded access to viable life-cycle stages.

BRI holds a $146.3 million single-award indefinite delivery contract from NIAID awarded July 2024 (completion July 2031) covering development and employment of animal and animal replacement models for infectious disease research, including small animal models, non-human primate models, and specialized research models for evaluating therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics. The contract also encompasses generating and distributing specialized reagents including live parasites, vectors, tissues, and antibodies. Place of performance is Rockville, Maryland. BRI also operates under several older Navy IDCs, with the largest being N0001483C0355 (8 task orders) and N0001477C0754 (5 task orders).

Recent activity remains sparse: two prime awards in 2024, one in 2025, and three in 2026. Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months is minimal — one award worth $507 thousand reaching completion. In its subcontractor role, BRI serves as a biorepository operator and specimen-management specialist under Illumina, Inc. and Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute on the Strong Heart Study, maintaining over 800,000 vials of blood-based and urine samples across approximately 45 to 50 freezers and releasing and distributing biospecimens to approved investigators within thirty days. BRI also operates as a specimen repository sub-recipient under UCLA on the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, receiving, storing, tracking, and distributing biologic specimens from ACTG clinical research sites using Frontier Sciences & Technology Research Foundation's Laboratory Data Management System.

SCI-reportable invoicing on federal service contracts ran $1.4 million in FY2022, $1.4 million in FY2023, $1.7 million in FY2024, and $1.6 million in FY2025, with government-paid hourly rates on those contracts ranging from roughly $100/hr at the tenth percentile to $111/hr at the ninety-percentile, median $105/hr. The SCI dataset shows approximately 6 to 7 FTEs delivered annually across prime records, with zero sub-hours recorded. This SCI activity represents a narrow slice of BRI's total federal engagement — the $6.1 million SCI invoicing across four fiscal years reflects only service contracts above the $150,000 threshold and excludes the organization's substantial grant revenue, goods and product deliveries (parasites and reagents), and classified or non-reportable work.