Karius, Inc. today announced it has been awarded a contract from the Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures (DRIVe), under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Valued over $600,000, the contract enables Karius to extend its current DNA pathogen detection capabilities to include RNA pathogen detection from a variety of human samples.
“We are delighted to partner with BARDA DRIVe in developing highly scalable tests that can rapidly identify any type of pathogen anywhere in the body,” said Tim Blauwkamp, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Karius. “Our agnostic test for DNA pathogens has already served over 60,000 hospitalized patients, and this new project brings our vision of rapid, comprehensive diagnostics for every patient one step closer.”
This contract follows a $100m Series C announcement earlier in the year to expand its Karius Test beyond the 400 U.S. hospitals currently using it and to support research into the broader applications of Karius’ metagenomics technology. Additionally, Karius announced that the Karius Test has been granted designation as a Breakthrough Device from The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for use in the diagnosis and management of immunocompromised patients with suspected lung infections including lower respiratory infection and pneumonia.
