Promega Corporation

Promega Corporation, doing business as Promega Corp, is a for-profit life sciences manufacturer headquartered in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, that supplies DNA extraction systems, molecular diagnostic reagents, forensic analysis equipment, and customized laboratory consumables to federal agencies as a prime contractor across 81 distinct customer agencies. Promega competes in the full-and-open federal marketplace with no set-aside designation; it is a large business and does not hold SBA certifications. The company operates two named subsidiaries, Turner Biosystems Inc. and Terso Solutions Inc., and maintains manufacturing and distribution operations at multiple locations including Madison, Wisconsin (primary headquarters), Bethesda, Maryland, and subordinate sites supporting federal laboratory and healthcare customers.

Promega's federal footprint centers on the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Department of the Army Medical Command dominates both volume and dollar value, with 69 awards worth $27.6 million combined potential value, followed by the Defense Health Agency (24 awards, $17.2 million) and the NIH's Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations (8 awards, $10.1 million). The Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters Division places 36 awards worth $8.7 million, anchored by a $1.5 million indefinite delivery contract for validation kits and consumables awarded in 2021. The top five customer agencies by dollar value account for approximately 74% of Promega's combined potential value. Recent concrete contract work includes a $294.9 million sole-source purchase order from NIH's Clinical Center for GenePrint 24 System short tandem repeat amplification kits for bone marrow transplant engraftment monitoring (awarded March 1, 2025), a $399.7 million purchase order from NIH Clinical Center for engraftment monitoring and allogeneic transplant testing through STR amplification (awarded January 7, 2022), a $838.3 million sole-source purchase order from the FBI Headquarters Division for three CE1024 Spectrum CE Systems with 24-capillary DNA analysis capability and three-year service agreement (awarded September 22, 2025), and a $165.6 million blanket purchase agreement call from the Defense Health Agency for customized reagents and consumables (awarded January 27, 2026).

Promega's parent contract vehicles reflect life sciences and forensic product specialization. The largest vehicle is a $1 million Blanket Purchase Agreement (HHSN263199900051808B) with 151 task orders under the NIH, followed by a $657 thousand BPA (HHSN263201500038B) with 44 task orders. Under Department of Defense vehicles, Promega holds significant positions: an Indefinite Delivery Contract (W81XWH07D0003) with 27 task orders and $3.2 million potential value, a BPA (W81XWH20A0008) with 16 task orders and $1.8 million potential value, and an IDC (W81XWH12D0016) with 12 task orders and $1.7 million potential value. Promega also maintains a newly established $10 million NIH BPA awarded December 31, 2023 (ultimate completion December 31, 2026) for biological materials, chemicals, medical and scientific equipment, and maintenance services, with recent task orders for HIBIT-tagged cell lines, molecular assay kits, and service agreements to support translational research across multiple NIH components. A $2.9 million Defense Health Agency BPA awarded September 25, 2025 (ultimate completion September 24, 2030) covers customized reagents and consumables. A single-award indefinite delivery contract with Veterans Integrated Service Network 23 (ceiling $124.1 thousand, awarded June 1, 2026, completion September 30, 2030) provides DNA extraction reagents.

Promega's capability portfolio spans four primary product and service categories. Automated nucleic acid extraction systems (Maxwell RSC, Maxwell RSC 48, Maxwell RSC 48 IQ/OQ, AS8500 systems) dominate its federal work—these instruments support DNA isolation and purification for forensic, clinical, and research applications across FBI crime laboratories, VA medical centers, and NIH research institutes. Molecular diagnostic and forensic DNA analysis systems (Spectrum CE Systems with 8-capillary and 24-capillary configurations, PowerPlex Fusion systems for STR multiplexing) support law enforcement and military healthcare missions. Luminescence and fluorescence detection reagents and systems (GloMax Explorer, GloMax Discover, GloMax Navigator luminometers; luciferase, caspase, and kinase assays) enable high-throughput screening and viral detection research at NIH centers and CDC facilities. Specialized cell lines, assay kits, and reagents—including proprietary HiBiT-tagged and NanoLuc reporter cell lines, CellTiter-Glo assays, P450-Glo screening systems, and custom large-scale RNA transcription systems for mRNA vaccine development—support biomedical research at NCATS, NIDA, and the NIH Vaccine Research Center. Service agreements for equipment maintenance, installation, training, and support are standard across all vehicle classes.

Activity has declined in recent years—26 awards in 2022 declining to four awards in 2026 (through June 1), reflecting both a longer sales cycle for federal laboratory equipment and the high dollar magnitude of individual awards. Across the full portfolio of 1,924 awards spanning 1990 to June 1, 2026, Promega has obligated $36.1 million (41% of combined $88.1 million potential value), indicating a mix of equipment and consumable task orders with extended performance periods. Ten awards with combined potential value of $965 thousand face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and represent recompete exposure. The NAICS concentration reflects Promega's manufacturing footprint: Biological Product Manufacturing (217 awards), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (150 awards), and In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (138 awards) account for the plurality of work. The PSC concentration is dominated by Laboratory Equipment and Supplies (947 awards), Drugs and Biologicals (279 awards), and Chemicals (190 awards).

Promega holds minimal subcontract exposure—only seven sub-awards across the portfolio span a 35-year period. Named sub-awards include work as a sub to MRI Global on a Mycobacterium tuberculosis quality assessment program (Maxwell RSC System procurement, awarded November 14, 2024) and sub-recipient status under Battelle National Biodefense Institute's Department of Homeland Security contract at Fort Detrick (multiple reagents procurement, awarded July 23, 2025). Promega also serves as a sub-recipient to the Ohio Attorney General on multiple Department of Justice DNA capacity enhancement grants, providing Maxwell extraction systems, MaxPrep liquid handling equipment, maintenance contracts, and casework supplies to state crime laboratories (five sub-grant awards between September 2021 and May 2025). This sub-recipient role on state crime lab capacity grants represents a secondary revenue stream supporting forensic science infrastructure enhancement outside the federal prime contractor base.