SafeTraces Selected as a Prime Performer for ARPA-H Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total Health (BREATHE) Program on Other Transaction Agreement up to $39 Million

Pioneering Dual-Use Technology Company Will Lead World-Class Team to Develop and Deploy Real-Time Biosensors, Risk Assessment Software, and Automated Building Controls in Support of the U.S. Department of War

PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — SafeTraces, the market leader in pathogen-proofing indoor environments, was announced by ARPA-H as a Prime Performer for its Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total Health (BREATHE) program on a multi-year other transaction agreement (OTA) for up to $39 million.

SafeTraces will lead a world-class team including Siemens, Ginkgo Bioworks, Gate Scientific, Stanford University School of Medicine, Penn State University, Uniformed Services University, Metis Foundation, and Linda Lee Consulting to develop and deploy real-time biosensors, respiratory risk assessment software, and automated building controls in support of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) within the U.S. Department of War.

DHA is one of the largest U.S. integrated health systems with over 700 military hospitals and clinics serving over 9.5 million active-duty service members, veterans, and family members. The SafeTraces-led team will be supporting Walter Reed Medical Center, Brooke Army Medical Center, and Madigan Army Medical Center to enhance health readiness, force protection, and biodefense.

The BREATHE program is focused on developing tools to sense airborne bioaerosols, assessing indoor air quality exposure risk, and delivering cost-effective smart building interventions to improve human health. Most people spend more than 90% of their lives inside buildings, and the air we breathe indoors plays a critical role in shaping human health, productivity, well-being, and learning.

Respiratory infections like the flu and pneumonia are a leading cause of death in the U.S. and globally, and the risk of airborne infection transmission is greater indoors. Moreover, respiratory illnesses are a leading cause of disease and non-battle injury (DNBI) among U.S. military personnel, who also confront elevated risk levels from airborne biological threats due to the nature of their work.

Over the past several years, SafeTraces has worked extensively across the built environment in order to predict, detect, and prevent airborne biological threats. Developed with National Institutes of Health support, the company’s veriDART^® platform, which leverages DNA-tagged tracer particles to simulate emission, mobility, and exposure to airborne pathogens, has been employed by Amazon, Google, Mayo Clinic, State of California, the U.S. Department of War, and other leading clients across tens of millions of square feet of diverse facility portfolios to ensure healthy, safe, and biosecure indoor environments.

SafeTraces’ recently launched PathogenSentinel™, the first all-in-one qPCR-based biosensor and software platform for enhanced environmental biosurveillance, representing a critical transition in airborne pathogen detection from time-lagged, manual legacy approaches to a rapid, automated sensor platform with lab-quality results and high scalability. SafeTraces’ work on BREATHE will further advance its existing platform to achieve the program’s ambitious disease burden reduction and return on investment performance targets to the benefit of the U.S. Department of War.

“Airborne pathogen control is one of the world’s largest unmet public health needs, as well as a massive risk to international security and economic stability,” said SafeTraces CEO Erik Malmstrom. “SafeTraces is thrilled to be leading a truly exceptional team to deliver on ARPA-H BREATHE’s program mandate in service of U.S military personnel and their families. Given over half of our company’s team members are either veterans or veteran spouses, it is a profound honor to give back to a community that has been such an important part of our own lives and sacrifices so much for all of us.”

“Today, most buildings can’t see what’s in their air, allowing harmful allergens and pathogens to circulate unnoticed,” said BREATHE Program Manager Jessica Green, Ph.D. “BREATHE innovators are closing the gap, so buildings actively protect occupants instead of amplifying risk.” 

About SafeTraces, Inc.
SafeTraces, Inc. is a market-leading biotechnology company focused on pathogen-proofing indoor environments. Developed with NIH, NSF, and DoD support, SafeTraces’ integrated platform predicts, detects, and prevents infectious, contamination, and bioterror incidents.

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SOURCE SafeTraces, Inc.