This NAICS page summarizes federal contracting for Research and Development in Biotechnology across the last 10 years. Total obligations reached $14.46 billion across 14,297 award actions, with the largest shares going to the Department of Energy, the Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and the National Institutes of Health.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541711 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 10 Years)
FPDS procurement data for NAICS 541711 shows biotechnology research and development obligations over the last 10 years, with spending concentrated in DOE, ASPR, and NIH awards.
Annual and vendor totals reflect obligated amounts in FPDS and may vary by reporting corrections, agency structure, and award classification.
NAICS Code
541711
Industry
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
Total Obligated
14.46 billion
14,456,632,156.62
Award Actions
14,297
Average Action Value
1,011,165.43
About NAICS 541711 federal contract activity
NAICS 541711, Research and Development in Biotechnology, recorded $14.46 billion in obligated contract spend across 14,297 awards over the last 10 years, with an average award value of $1.01 million. The code reflects a high-volume, research-intensive contracting area where funding is distributed across many awards but concentrated in a smaller number of large obligating relationships.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
The Department of Energy was the largest funding agency in this NAICS, obligating $7.16 billion across 432 awards, followed by the Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at $4.59 billion across 1,360 awards. The National Institutes of Health was also a major buyer at $1.49 billion across 5,867 awards, while the Department of the Army and DTRA contributed smaller but still material totals.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
Vendor concentration is pronounced: Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC received $7.16 billion across 401 awards, accounting for the largest share of obligations in this category. The next largest vendors were Emergent Product Development Gaithersburg Inc. at $1.45 billion, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at $981.61 million, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. at $276.80 million, and Cerus Corporation at $185.67 million.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations in the reported recent years were strongest in 2023 at $1.74 billion, followed by 2024 at $1.33 billion and 2021 at $1.30 billion. Spending remained above $1.0 billion in 2021 through 2024 before declining to $477.85 million in 2025, based on the current year-to-date total.
How to interpret this page
This page summarizes FPDS contract obligations associated with NAICS 541711 over the last 10 years and uses obligated dollars as the primary measure of spend. Agency, vendor, and annual figures are based on total obligated amounts and award counts attributed to this NAICS code within the analysis window.
Top Agencies
SELECT
agency_id,
agency_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID AS agency_id,
anyHeavy(content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__name) AS agency_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541711'
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY agency_id
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Agency ID | Agency Name | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8900 | ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF | 7,161,668,474.69 | 7.16 billion | 432 |
| 7505 | OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE | 4,589,802,630.93 | 4.59 billion | 1,360 |
| 7529 | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH | 1,494,929,439.80 | 1.49 billion | 5,867 |
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 333,269,282.26 | 333.27 million | 1,422 |
| 9761 | DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY (DTRA) | 209,310,475.70 | 209.31 million | 662 |
| 7001 | OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS | 119,352,230.01 | 119.35 million | 346 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 114,102,464.98 | 114.10 million | 638 |
| 97AE | DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY (DARPA) | 98,560,674.70 | 98.56 million | 279 |
| 7524 | FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION | 89,027,657.59 | 89.03 million | 514 |
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 88,429,454.99 | 88.43 million | 338 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, NAICS 541711 has obligated $14.46 billion across 14,297 awards, with spending highly concentrated in two agencies: the Department of Energy ($7.16 billion) and the Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response ($4.59 billion), which together account for roughly 81% of total obligations. The National Institutes of Health is the next largest obligating agency at $1.49 billion, but with 5,867 awards, indicating a much more distributed award base than DOE or ASPR. DoD components appear in the top agencies list with substantially lower obligation levels, generally under $334 million each, suggesting secondary but broad participation in this NAICS.
Top Vendors
SELECT
vendor_name,
cage_code,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName AS vendor_name,
anyHeavy(content__award__vendor__vendorSiteDetails__entityIdentifiers__cageCode) AS cage_code,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541711'
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY vendor_name
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Vendor | CAGE Code | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC | 50B53 | 7,163,061,681.04 | 7.16 billion | 401 |
| EMERGENT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT GAITHERSBURG INC. | 057Y1 | 1,447,343,582.01 | 1.45 billion | 71 |
| REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | 544P9 | 981,606,627.57 | 981.61 million | 39 |
| MERCK SHARP & DOHME CORP. | 6B2S4 | 276,796,615.95 | 276.80 million | 20 |
| CERUS CORPORATION | 1PVJ6 | 185,669,323.57 | 185.67 million | 40 |
| HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE INC. | 04493 | 175,744,127.86 | 175.74 million | 17 |
| AMERICAN TYPE CULTURE COLLECTION | 31101 | 141,431,475.41 | 141.43 million | 49 |
| JANSSEN VACCINES & PREVENTION B.V. | H1N64 | 132,282,550.00 | 132.28 million | 10 |
| SRI INTERNATIONAL | 03652 | 122,593,698.67 | 122.59 million | 363 |
| BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE | 79986 | 117,754,568.75 | 117.75 million | 578 |
Insight
Obligations in NAICS 541711 are highly concentrated over the last 10 years, with ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC accounting for $7.16 billion of the $14.46 billion total, or roughly half of all obligated dollars in this category. The next two vendors, EMERGENT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT GAITHERSBURG INC. and REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., add another $2.43 billion, indicating a steep drop-off after the leading supplier. Award counts are more distributed than dollars, with vendors such as BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE and SRI INTERNATIONAL receiving many awards but comparatively lower obligated amounts, suggesting a mix of a few very large awards and a broader base of smaller awards.
Annual Trend
SELECT
year,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
toYear(parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate)) AS year,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541711'
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY year
)
ORDER BY year DESC| Year | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 477,846,628.42 | 477.85 million | 221 |
| 2024 | 1,334,102,391.25 | 1.33 billion | 506 |
| 2023 | 1,736,098,102.02 | 1.74 billion | 567 |
| 2022 | 1,098,498,332.78 | 1.10 billion | 773 |
| 2021 | 1,300,741,490.41 | 1.30 billion | 930 |
| 2020 | 2,098,960,168.35 | 2.10 billion | 1,175 |
| 2019 | 1,368,426,201.11 | 1.37 billion | 1,297 |
| 2018 | 1,475,224,996.37 | 1.48 billion | 1,965 |
| 2017 | 1,754,886,701.11 | 1.75 billion | 3,365 |
| 2016 | 1,811,847,144.80 | 1.81 billion | 3,498 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, NAICS 541711 obligated $14.46 billion across 14,297 awards, with an average award value of about $1.01 million. Obligations were strongest in 2020 and 2023-2024, with a peak in 2023 at $1.74 billion, followed by a decline to $477.85 million in 2025 year-to-date. Award volume was highest in 2016-2017 and then generally declined, indicating a shift toward fewer awards with higher average dollar value in later years.
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