Kephera Diagnostics LLC

Kephera Diagnostics LLC, a for-profit limited liability company based in Framingham, Massachusetts, develops diagnostic assays and biomarker discovery solutions for infectious diseases and parasitic infections as a prime recipient of federal research grants and contracts, competing without set-aside designations. The vendor holds no subcontract positions across its federal footprint and operates solely as a direct awardee to federal agencies.

Kephera's customer base concentrates entirely within the Department of Health and Human Services. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases dominates the award volume with 16 awards carrying $900 thousand combined potential value, anchoring the vendor's portfolio around neglected tropical diseases, parasitic infections, and diagnostic biomarker research. The National Cancer Institute follows with 2 awards valued at $2.3 million combined potential value, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute account for the remaining awards. This concentration reflects Kephera's specialized niche in infectious-disease diagnostics tied to NIH research priorities.

Recent representative work includes a $300 thousand Small Business Innovation Research Phase I contract from NIAID (awarded December 2024, completing May 1, 2025) for discovery and validation of novel diagnostic biomarkers for malaria and neglected tropical diseases; a $303 thousand NIAID-funded grant (awarded August 2026) to develop a rapid diagnostic immunoassay for strongyloidiasis running through July 31, 2028; a $470 thousand National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grant (awarded September 2025) for a peptide-based ELISA diagnostic test for sarcoidosis completing August 31, 2028; a $300 thousand NIAID contract from September 2024 for development of a serological test for herpes simplex types 1 and 2; and earlier NIAID grants focused on diagnostic assays for congenital Chagas disease and point-of-care testing for Trypanosoma cruzi infection awarded in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Across these efforts, Kephera combines biomarker identification through high-throughput screening and T7 phage display library methods with assay development using ELISA, Western blot, and mobile-integrated readout platforms.

Award activity shows modest volume with two awards in 2021 and 2023, four in 2024, and one each in 2025 and 2026. Seven awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing potential recompete opportunity. Service Contract Inventory data shows federal services invoicing of $2.3 million across FY2022–FY2024, with a declining FTE trajectory from 2.6 full-time equivalents in FY2022 to 0.6 in FY2024 and no invoicing in FY2025, reflecting the project-grant cadence of NIH-funded research rather than sustained service-delivery contracts. Government-paid hourly rates on SCI-reportable prime contracts ran median $256/hour, with rates spanning $251 to $271 per hour across the 10th to 90th percentile range. The vendor performs all work directly, with zero subcontractor hour share across prime engagements.

Research and Development of diagnostic assays for infectious diseases and pathogens, including viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases, including COVID-19.