Protein Palace Proposers Day

Background
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting an in-person Proposers Day for the Protein Palace program on November 17, 2026. The event aims to introduce the science and technology community to the program's vision and goals, facilitate interaction among researchers, collect questions for a Q&A document, and promote teaming arrangements among organizations with relevant expertise.

The Protein Palace program's objective is to enable rapid purification of proteins with high specificity, purity, and yield, addressing current challenges in biomanufacturing.

Work Details
The Protein Palace program will focus on developing a universal protein purification platform that breaks the traditional tradeoff between generalizability and specificity. The program consists of two phases: Phase 1 will demonstrate feasibility in controlling tunability and specificity across different protein types; Phase 2 will prove scalability for high throughput and diverse proteins.

Performers will propose a panel of proteins for evaluation, demonstrating purification processes capable of achieving high purity and yield. The event will include presentations by government personnel and opportunities for team building among participants.

Period of Performance
The Protein Palace program consists of a 24-month Phase 1 followed by an 18-month Phase 2.

Place of Performance
Executive Conference Center, 4075 Wilson Blvd Ste 300, Arlington, VA 22203.

Bidder Requirements
Participants must register for the Proposers Day by November 9, 2026. Registration is limited to a maximum of 100 attendees. All attendees must complete DARPA Form 104 and present government-issued photo identification upon entry.

Non-U.S. citizens must submit additional forms (DARPA Form 60 or Foreign Visit Request) as applicable.