Bid document

DARPA-PA-27-02

Program Announcement
Protein Palace
Multi X Office

DARPA-PA-27-02

November 12, 2026

DARPA-PA-27-02

OVERVIEW INFORMATION:

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Federal Agency Name: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Multi X Office (MXO)

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Funding Opportunity Title: Protein Palace

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Announcement Type: Initial

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Funding Opportunity Number: DARPA-PA-27-02

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Assistance Listing Number: Not applicable

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Dates/Time: All Times are Eastern Time Zone (ET)
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Posting Date: November 12, 2026

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Proposers Day: November 17, 2026

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Abstract Due Date: December 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.

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Question and Answer Deadline: January 8, 2027, at 3:00 p.m.

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Deadline to Submit Required Intent to Propose: January 12, 2027, at 3:00 p.m.

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Proposal Due Date: January 22, 2027, at 3:00 p.m.

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Anticipated In-Person Oral Presentation Dates: February 1, 2027 – February 5, 2027

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Anticipated Individual Awards: Multiple awards are anticipated

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Types of Instruments That May Be Awarded: Other Transaction for Research

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NAICS Code: 541715

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Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Required Level: At the time of award, a minimum CMMC Level 1 is required. In addition, a CMMC Level 2 (Self-Assessment) must be completed before the 12-month mark or milestone 5 (see Section IV.G for additional information).

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Agency Contact: The Program Announcement Coordinator for this effort may be reached at: [email protected]

DARPA/MXO

ATTN: DARPA-PA-27-02

675 North Randolph Street
Arlington, VA 22203-2114

DARPA-PA-27-02

Program Announcement

DARPA-PA-27-02

Protein Palace
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Multi X Office (MXO)

SECTION I: FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals in the area of tunable purification of any protein from complex feedstocks. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. The objective of the Protein Palace program is to enable the rapid purification of virtually any protein with high specificity, purity, and yield. To achieve this goal, Protein Palace seeks to break the traditional tradeoff between generalizability and specificity by leveraging dynamic chemical and physical approaches that probe the physicochemical variations of a protein rather than relying on its bulk surface properties or rigid, predefined binding pockets and affinity tags. By establishing a universal, generalizable protein purification