Charm Sciences Inc.

Charm Sciences Inc., a Lawrence, Massachusetts-based for-profit Subchapter S Corporation, manufactures and sells quantitative lateral flow diagnostic test kits for food safety, water quality, and environmental monitoring to federal agencies as a prime contractor across 732 awards totaling $385.9 million in combined potential value. The company competes predominantly in full-and-open procurement, with occasional total small business set-aside awards; it holds no federal subcontracts in the source data.

Charm Sciences' capability portfolio centers on specialized diagnostic testing solutions. The company manufactures mycotoxin test kits for detecting aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisin, and zearalenone in grain and agricultural samples; bacterial detection kits for antimicrobial drug residues in meat and poultry; water testing swabs and sanitation test supplies; ATP positive controls for hygiene verification; and proprietary luminometer equipment for microbiological analysis. Representative work includes a $6 million single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service for CHARM KIS test kits (awarded August 9, 2023, running through August 8, 2027) under which recent delivery orders have ranged from $93,730 to $325,165 each; a $1 million single-award total small business set-aside Indefinite Delivery Contract with the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service for mycotoxin test kits, extraction materials, and laboratory consumables (awarded April 17, 2026, running through April 16, 2031); and recurring small purchase orders from the Defense Logistics Agency's Medical Supply Chain for various test kits and control materials, typically valued between $250 and $2,500 per order.

Customer concentration sits heavily with the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Medical (517 awards, $979 thousand combined potential value) and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service Office of Administrative Services Procurement Management Branch (75 awards, $176.3 million combined potential value), together representing 91% of award volume. The Department of the Army Medical Command and USDA's Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards account for the remainder of major customers. By potential value, a stark contrast emerges: the Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters anchors $201.9 million from just two awards (a $200 million multiple-award IDC for COVID-19 testing supplies and related instruments, referenced in source summaries but not detailed in the primary IDV listing), followed by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service at $176.3 million from 75 awards. The source data indicates this FEMA vehicle carries a $200 million ceiling and predates the 2022-2026 award window, suggesting substantial past performance recompete exposure.

Charm Sciences places task orders under five primary parent vehicles: Indefinite Delivery Contract AG3A94C080028 (31 task orders, $3 million combined potential value), Indefinite Delivery Contract AG3A94C130014 (21 task orders, $3.5 million combined potential value), Indefinite Delivery Contract 123A9418D0019 (14 task orders, $2.8 million combined potential value), and Indefinite Delivery Contract 123A9423D0009 (10 task orders, $2 million combined potential value). All parent vehicles are agency-specific BPAs or single-award IDIQs held with USDA bureaus or DLA, with no indication of multi-agency GWACs or GSA Schedules in the prime footprint.

Activity declined sharply from 2023 (51 awards) to 2026 year-to-date (14 awards in the first six months), driven primarily by fewer small Medical Supply Chain purchase orders; however, the dollar value trajectory remains stable because large USDA FSIS delivery orders continue. Only one award—a $258 thousand USDA Agricultural Marketing Service contract—completes within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal near-term recompete pressure on this vendor's core business. The source notes Charm Sciences has maintained SAM registration since September 2001 and operates facilities in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and St. Louis, Missouri. The company's NAICS profile spans Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (153 awards), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (152 awards), and related equipment categories; PSC concentration runs to Laboratory Equipment and Supplies (302 awards) and In Vitro Diagnostic Substances, Reagents, Test Kits and Sets (292 awards).