Karius, Inc.

Karius, Inc., headquartered in Redwood City, California, supplies next-generation sequencing (NGS) and molecular diagnostic testing services for infectious disease detection to federal healthcare and research agencies exclusively as a prime contractor, competing full-and-open with no set-aside designations. The company holds a specialized capability in metagenomic sequencing of microbial cell-free DNA and RNA, enabling rapid pathogen identification and antimicrobial resistance monitoring from blood specimens.

Karius operates through a narrow but high-value customer base concentrated in federal healthcare networks and defense medical facilities. The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration dominates the portfolio: Veterans Integrated Service Network 8 (VISN 8) accounts for five awards totaling $848 thousand in combined potential value, and Veterans Integrated Service Network 17 (VISN 17) contributes three awards worth $534 thousand. The Defense Health Agency follows with three awards totaling $654 thousand, including quantitative NGS testing at Naval Medical Center San Diego. The Department of Health and Human Services appears across two components: the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (three awards, $199 thousand) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (one award, $631 thousand for R&D on metagenomic sequencing of cell-free DNA and RNA for comprehensive pathogen detection). These five customers account for 94% of awards and 95% of combined potential value, reflecting deep concentration in VA and defense medical operations.

Karius' contract work sits entirely on single-award indefinite delivery contracts (IDCs) and purchase orders drawn against them. Two parent vehicles dominate: IDC 36C24822D0086 (VISN 8) at $600 thousand ceiling with four task orders totaling $248 thousand, and IDC 36C25725D0031 (VISN 17) at $490 thousand ceiling with two task orders worth $44 thousand. Both IDCs carry sole-source justifications citing Karius as the exclusive provider of its diagnostic capabilities, with tests priced at $2,000 per test. Recent representative work includes a $631 thousand R&D contract from ASPR for metagenomic sequencing technology (awarded July 2024, completing January 2026), a $164 thousand purchase order from the Defense Health Agency for quantitative NGS testing at Naval Medical Center San Diego (October 2023, completing September 2027), and $80 thousand in NIH Clinical Center testing services (September 2023, completing September 2025). The source lists 17 total federal awards spanning 2022 through April 2026 with combined potential value of $3 million and $1.9 million obligated (62% burn-down).

Activity shows a volatile trajectory: four awards in 2022, declining to two in 2024, recovering to four in 2025, then one in early 2026. Four awards carrying combined potential value of $381 thousand face ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure across VISN 8, VISN 17, and NIH Clinical Center sole-source renewals. Karius holds no subcontractor relationships in the source data; all work is prime performance, primarily at its Redwood City facility with secondary performance location in Harlingen, Texas under VISN 17.