Karius Secures BARDA Contract to Expand Agnostic Detection of Pathogens

Adding RNA pathogens to the Karius Test® broadens clinical utility and strengthens pandemic readiness.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., August 8, 2024 – 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.

To learn more about Karius visit kariusdx.com. To learn more about Karius’ contract with the Agnostic Diagnostics Program, please visit the BARDA website. This project has been supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under contract number 75A50124C00023.

About Karius
Karius Inc., a global leader in liquid biopsy for infectious diseases, harnesses metagenomics sequencing, and artificial intelligence (AI) to help enhance the precision and speed of pathogen diagnosis. The Karius Test®, used in over 400 healthcare institutions–including 90+ transplant centers and 40+ children’s hospitals across the United States–identifies more than 1,000 pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites from a single blood draw typically within a day of sample receipt.

A landmark study in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology found that the Karius Test detected 701 unique microbial taxa across a cohort of 15,000 patients, making it the largest study of its kind, demonstrating the capability of the Karius Test in pathogen identification for multiple applications including pneumonia, endocarditis, invasive fungal infections, and infectious causes of febrile neutropenia and fever of unknown origin. The Karius Test also has been incorporated into the diagnostics recommendations in the 2023 Duke-ISCVID Criteria for Infective Endocarditis.

Media Contact
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