Abram Scientific secures $8.3m DARPA diagnostics contract

Abram Scientific has received a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract worth up to $8.3 million to develop its handheld CoagCare blood coagulation testing system for military trauma applications. The funding will support further development of the diagnostic platform, preparation for manufacturing its electronic meter and disposable test cards, and adaptation of the equipment for use in austere environments where conventional laboratory testing may be unavailable.

The award forms part of DARPA’s Resuscitation and Prevention of Ischemia-Induced Dysfunction (RAPIID) programme, which is developing shelf-stable alternatives to conventional blood products and the equipment needed to administer them. Abram’s involvement concerns a diagnostic device intended to help assess coagulation status and inform treatment decisions. The company previously received a separate $2 million DARPA contract in October 2025 for miniaturisation of CoagCare, making the new award a further development commitment rather than the announcement of an operational equipment purchase.

CoagCare is designed to examine the formation and breakdown of blood clots using a compact meter and single-use diagnostic card. Its proposed measurement process assesses the viscoelastic properties and density of whole blood, allowing information about coagulation to be collected from a small sample. Abram aims to provide a complete assessment, including clot breakdown or fibrinolysis, in less than ten minutes. These are development objectives and manufacturer-reported characteristics; the system has not yet received US Food and Drug Administration clearance for marketing.

Blood coagulation involves interacting biological processes that form and stabilise a clot following injury. During severe trauma, extensive blood loss and the physiological response to injury can disrupt those processes, creating difficulties when clinicians need to determine which treatment may be appropriate. Measurements of clot formation and breakdown can provide information about the patient’s condition, but they must be interpreted alongside clinical findings and other relevant tests. CoagCare is intended to make such information available closer to the point of treatment, rather than replace clinical judgement or establish a diagnosis independently.

The proposed technology differs in form from established viscoelastic testing systems such as thromboelastography and rotational thromboelastometry, which can require larger instruments and longer measurement periods. Abram describes its approach as capable of providing information in under ten minutes, compared with measurements that can take 30 to 60 minutes using some conventional methods. The comparison reflects the company’s stated objectives and selected existing techniques; it does not establish equivalent diagnostic accuracy or clinical outcomes across all patients and test conditions.

Portability introduces additional engineering requirements because a medical device used in field conditions must remain capable of producing reliable measurements outside a controlled laboratory. Ambulances, evacuation aircraft and forward medical facilities can expose equipment to movement, vibration and variable temperatures. The meter’s electronic measurement system must operate within suitable limits, while the disposable card needs to retain the properties required for testing during storage and handling. Abram describes CoagCare as vibration-insensitive, although independently verified environmental qualification results have not been published with the contract announcement.

Manufacturing the disposable test card is an important part of the funded development work. Each card must provide consistent sample handling and measurement characteristics if results are to be compared meaningfully across individual tests. The meter also requires suitable electronic assembly, verification and calibration arrangements. Abram intends to develop a common disposable card for its proposed military and civilian configurations, creating the possibility of manufacturing shared consumables for different applications. The planned production arrangements have not yet been established, and the company has not announced an annual manufacturing capacity or commercial supply agreement.

DARPA’s RAPIID programme addresses difficulties associated with providing conventional blood products to casualties far from established medical facilities. Blood storage requirements, limited shelf lives and dependence on donor supplies can constrain the availability of treatment in remote environments. RAPIID is intended to advance alternative components, including oxygen carriers, platelet-related products and dried plasma, together with the delivery systems and diagnostics needed to support their use. These technologies remain under development, with regulatory authorisation and clinical evidence forming part of the programme’s objectives.

The programme builds on DARPA’s earlier Fieldable Solutions for Hemorrhage with bio-Artificial Resuscitation Products research, which examined technologies intended to reproduce essential functions of whole blood. RAPIID is structured as a 36-month effort, with an initial phase focused on preclinical evidence and manufacturing readiness followed by work towards clinical development and commercialisation. The programme aims to develop products and associated equipment suitable for eventual field use, but the completion of research phases does not itself confer regulatory approval.

CoagCare’s intended role within RAPIID is to support assessment of the patient’s coagulation condition as developers investigate the administration of different blood analog components. The diagnostic device is separate from those therapeutic products and will require evidence appropriate to its own intended use. Abram is also pursuing development for civilian trauma and surgical applications, supported by Series A funding led by Octapharma in February 2026. The company has identified FDA 510(k) clearance as an objective, although neither the October contract nor the earlier financing establishes that the relevant review has been completed.

Abhishek Ramkumar, Abram Scientific’s founder and chief executive, said the DARPA award would support development of a diagnostic platform that could eventually serve both military and civilian medicine. The company’s plans include a military-focused equipment configuration suitable for austere conditions while retaining a common disposable testing component. Details of the proposed field configuration, environmental testing programme and regulatory submission timetable remain undisclosed.

The contract establishes additional work on a diagnostic technology at the development and manufacturing preparation stages. Further milestones will include validation of the intended measurements, refinement of the device for military use, establishment of repeatable production processes and progress towards the relevant regulatory requirements. CoagCare remains a prospective capability within the wider RAPIID programme rather than an approved or fielded medical device.