Polypeptide Laboratories San Diego, LLC

Polypeptide Laboratories San Diego, LLC, operating as Polypeptide Labs, manufactures pharmaceutical-grade peptides and provides chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) services to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a full-and-open prime contractor without set-aside designations. The company is a for-profit manufacturer headquartered in San Diego, California, competing entirely on capabilities rather than small-business preferences.

Polypeptide Labs' federal capability portfolio centers on peptide synthesis, process development, manufacturing, analytical testing, and supply chain services for drug development across preclinical and IND-enabling research. The vendor holds two foundational single-award IDCs with NIH institutes: a $49.7 million indefinite delivery contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, through the NCATS Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls and Related Services program) running through May 2031 for process development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical peptides; and a $2.8 million single-award IDC with NIDA running through February 2027 for synthesis and distribution of opioid-related peptides. Recent delivery orders include an $826 thousand order for process development and manufacture of AZM152, a $601 thousand order for manufacture of GMP batch H105A peptide (both September 2026 under the NCATS vehicle), a $595 thousand order for opioid peptide synthesis (February 2025), and a $598 thousand order for opioid peptide synthesis (February 2024).

Customer concentration is pronounced within NIH. The National Institute on Drug Abuse anchors 11 awards representing $65.3 million in combined potential value (88% of total portfolio value), while the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) accounts for 10 awards valued at $6.4 million, and the National Cancer Institute holds 20 smaller purchase orders totaling $572 thousand. Collectively, five NIH institutes across the Department of Health and Human Services represent 78% of recent award count. The top two customers by potential value — NIDA and NICHD — track with the top-count rankings, indicating sustained deep engagement rather than episodic transactional work.

Polypeptide Labs operates as a pure prime contractor (100% of awards are prime contracts or IDCs; no subcontract engagement). The vendor's activity trajectory shows infrequent award events in the SCI-reportable range — two awards in FY2022, two in FY2023, and two in FY2024 — with SCI-reported invoiced revenue of $1.7 million in FY2022 and $332 thousand in FY2023, then $0 reported in FY2024 and FY2025, likely reflecting that much of the recent activity (the two large IDCs awarded in 2024 and May 2024) was not yet invoiced when the SCI snapshot was captured. The FTE footprint on SCI-reportable contracts was minimal (0.9 FTEs in FY2023, otherwise zero), consistent with the vendor's role as a manufacturing and testing provider rather than a services-delivery firm. Hourly rate posture on SCI records shows substantial variance — median government-paid rates around $43,213 per hour, with senior labor reaching $77,643 per hour and lower-end work at $8,784 per hour — reflecting the mix of routine testing and specialized analytical chemistry work. The vendor operates without subcontractors on its federal contracts.

The source data spans back to 1992, with 73 total awards across the portfolio, though activity became concentrated in NIH relationships beginning in 2022. Two large recompete exposures bracket the near term: the $49.7 million NCATS IDC and the $2.8 million NIDA IDC both anchor the portfolio, with the NIDA peptide IDC completing in February 2027 and the NCATS vehicle not completing until May 2031.