Seek Labs Awarded $2 Million Federal Grant for a Novel CRISPR-Based, Mutation-Resistant Therapeutic to Combat Avian Flu in Partnership with Canadian Food Inspection Agency

USDA grant is part of a broader federal push to find innovative solutions to fight the highly infectious avian flu (HPAI), which continues to spread globally and impact egg and poultry production

SALT LAKE CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AvianInfluenza–Seek Labs, a private TechBio company building a programmable disease response platform to detect, protect, and counter disease threats, has been awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to develop a novel, mutation-resistant therapeutic for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) using the company’s proprietary Programmable Target Ablation Platform (PTAP). The award is part of a broader federal push aimed at combating avian influenza, which has led to poultry production disruption, higher egg and poultry prices, and strained food supply.

“HPAI is a persistent, evolving threat with real consequences for food security, agricultural stability, and global health preparedness,” said Alison O’Mahony, Senior Vice President of Research at Seek Labs. “By pairing BioSeeker, our disease intelligence layer, with PTAP’s programmable design, we’re building a pan-HPAI therapeutic that is designed for viral evolution and remains effective as the virus evolves.”

Rather than targeting a single viral strain, Seek Labs’ programable therapeutic platform combines CRISPR-based molecular therapeutics with an AI-driven genomic intelligence system that continuously analyzes how the virus changes in real time. These insights are then programmed to identify and disrupt genomic regions that remain stable even as HPAI mutates across geographies and species.

“As the world faces an accelerating emergence of disease—from natural pandemics to potential AI-generated threats—current response systems remain reactive, slow and unable to adapt as pathogens evolve,” said Jared Bauer, co-founder and CEO of Seek Labs. “At Seek Labs, we approach disease as a dynamic problem that requires an adaptable system. By converting biological information into data, our platforms can be programmed to target and respond to diseases faster than traditional approaches.”

Avian influenza is a highly pathogenic virus that spreads quickly, is deadly to domestic poultry, and can wipe out entire flocks within a matter of days. Recently, avian influenza jumped to dairy cows, raising additional concerns about economic impacts to farming, food safety, and public health.

“Highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to pose complex and evolving risks to animal health, food systems, and economic stability,” said Yohannes Berhane from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. “Addressing a threat of this scale requires sustained research, scientific innovation, and cross-border collaboration. We are excited to be working alongside Seek Labs to address this ongoing threat.”

Seek Labs was selected through a competitive process under APHIS’s $100 million HPAI Grand Challenge, a multi-year initiative developed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program aims to accelerate innovation across prevention, vaccines, therapeutics, and biosecurity. As part of the award, Seek Labs will also collaborate with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The award’s Principal Investigators are Douglas Gladue, Vice President of Veterinary Pharma at Seek Labs and Yohannes Berhane, Head of the Avian Disease Research Unit at CFIA. Seek Labs’ collaboration with CFIA underscores the necessity of cross-border HPAI surveillance and response.

About PTAP

Seek Labs’ Programmable Target Ablation Platform (PTAP), uses CRISPR-based constructs to selectively disrupt viral DNA or RNA at conserved genomic sites. Those targets are identified and continuously refined by BioSeeker, the company’s AI-powered system that continuously scans global genomic data to track viral evolution in real time. PTAP’s therapeutic design is intended to remain effective across outbreaks and strains, rather than losing efficacy when a new variant emerges.

About Seek Labs

Seek Labs is a TechBio company approaching disease differently. We rebuilt the fundamental building blocks of disease response into a programmable system to detect, protect, and counter disease threats. At the core of this system is an AI-powered intelligence layer that transforms raw biology into actionable data, informing two deployment layers across programmable therapeutics and molecular point-of-care diagnostics. The validated deployment layer insights feed back into the core to create a continuous, data-driven improvement loop, transforming how the world can detect and treat disease.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Seek Labs is a proud member of BioHive, Utah’s collaborative life sciences ecosystem. Together with our partners, we’re building faster, smarter solutions for the world’s most urgent health challenges.

About The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

CFIA is Canada’s federal regulatory body responsible for protecting food, animals, and plants to safeguard the health of Canadians, the environment, and the economy, overseeing everything from farm to table, including imports, by enforcing laws and standards for food safety, animal health, and plant protection. It conducts inspections, manages recalls, provides guidance, and ensures that domestic and imported products meet rigorous standards, supporting Canada’s agriculture and trade.

Contacts

Bridget Baldwin, Director of Communications, Seek Labs
[email protected]