AgraFilms achieves DARPA ERIS “Awardable” status

We are pleased to announce that AgraFilms has achieved “Awardable” status on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Expedited Research Implementation Series (ERIS) Marketplace for its submission, Dictyostelid Spore Defense Against Antimicrobial Resistance Sabotage in Crop Systems. This designation follows a competitive technical assessment and places AgraFilms’ solution directly in front of U.S. government customers for rapid consideration and potential award. The technology addresses a growing agricultural and food-system risk posed by destructive agricultural pathogens such as Dickeya, Pectobacterium, and Erwinia species that cause soft rot, blackleg, and fire blight, collectively responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual crop losses and increasingly resistant to conventional antibiotics and chemical treatments.

AgraFilms’ approach leverages non-pathogenic, soil-dwelling dictyostelid amoebae that naturally prey on bacteria and actively eradicate bacterial biofilms, a key driver of disease persistence and antimicrobial resistance. Data presented in the ERIS submission demonstrate effective clearance of biofilm-associated infections in Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and polymicrobial systems, with field trials showing disease control comparable to leading antibiotics. The Awardable designation recognizes the novelty and dual-use potential of thi biofilm-specific biocontrol platform, which is designed to provide sustained, long-term protection of critical crops while strengthening resilience against both natural outbreaks and adversarial threats to U.S. agricultural systems