Every day, potential medical breakthroughs are passed over for being “too much”: too much risk, too expensive, too laborious, and even “too uncommercial.” As a result, people with serious chronic afflictions are left to struggle with unregulated, untreated, or undiagnosed conditions.
At the same time, there’s no shortage of researchers, scientists, and students with novel ideas for revolutionary biomedical technologies, treatments, and diagnoses.
In response, the Biden administration proposed the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)—colloquially, the “DARPA for health.” This agency aims to improve the US government’s ability to hasten biomedical and health research by catalyzing transformative health breakthroughs that would otherwise struggle to break into traditional research or commercial activity.
On March 15, 2022, Congress approved a spending bill of $1 billion for ARPA-H throughout 2022 (Biden’s agenda outlined a request of $6.5 billion over the next three years). The organization and affiliation of ARPA-H with other US health agencies has spurred contentious discussion. Despite this (or possibly in response to it), ARPA-H resides under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) but assumes a posture of administrative independence to ensure that it remains versatile, dynamic, and unhampered by older processes.
The ARPA-H Mission
While ARPA-H is still under development as an agency, it’s intended to make investments in breakthrough technologies, platforms, and solutions that could transform medicine and health but cannot readily be accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity.
Since this mission is closely aligned with that of many High Touch Group clients, we wrote this brief introduction to navigate this new agency’s directives.
The Major Foci of ARPA-H
ARPA-H has two major foci: “cancer and other chronic diseases” and “equal and quality healthcare access.”
The first focus—on cancer and other chronic diseases—comprises various technologies, resources, and disease models that could aid in diagnoses, treatments, and monitoring. Examples include:
- Vaccines as Cancer Preventatives: The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated to many the potential of vaccines; however, much of the population is unaware that vaccines may also prevent cancers: mRNA vaccines enhance the body’s ability to recognize and destroy genetic mutations before they spread.
- T-Cell Therapy: New, patient-focused T-cell therapy that uses the body’s cells to treat and prevent diseases has emerged as a touchstone in personalized medicine.
- Drug delivery methods and gene therapies that eliminate side effects by targeting specific tissues and cell types and ignoring neighboring tissues.
- Enhanced monitoring capabilities (including small, inexpensive, and mobile wearables and emerging biomarkers) that offer a holistic view of the body. These can aid in the prevention of chronic diseases and lifestyle-related disorders.
The second focus—on equal access to quality healthcare resources—is important because it has the potential to ensure that every individual receives proper medical care. A key goal of this focus is to minimize health disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality, thereby reducing high-risk pregnancy complications. Examples include:
- Ethically integrated and regular virtual house calls by nurses and midwives, beginning early in the pregnancy to (at least) six months postpartum.
- Platforms like smart devices and telehealth to improve medication administration for elderly and disabled individuals. Such platforms could connect community health workers with at-risk patients who require regular medications (e.g., diabetes, infections, blood pressure, etc.).
ARPA-H and the DARPA Approach
As stated on ARPA-H’s website, the agency will “use the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a model to establish a culture of championing innovative ideas in health and medicine.”
DARPA’s organizational approach provides broad autonomy in funding to individuals from relevant industries, academic backgrounds, or elsewhere to bring revolutionary ideas to fruition. Such “Project Managers” (PMs) develop and operate programs, actively engage with related organizations, apply relevant metrics and milestones, and monitor progress of funded projects. These PMs are assisted by leading experts who provide mechanisms and pathways for success.
ARPA-H is expected to function in a similar fashion. It will operate as a “lean and dynamic” organization that endures risks and pushes the limits of biomedical and healthcare research.
High Risk, High Reward
The goals of ARPA-H are ambitious and high-risk, but they offer high rewards for projects that succeed. Using DARPA as a model to establish a culture of innovation in healthcare and medicine, ARPA-H is expected to hasten the application and implementation of health breakthroughs. Moreover, its “use-driven” agenda is designed to advance the likelihood of such breakthroughs and the efficacy of their outcomes—thereby equipping the healthcare system with validated and usable tools for the prevention, treatment, and cure of chronic diseases for a broader range of people.
Next Steps
ARPA-H is still developing; however, it’s actively open for correspondence, comments, and discussions. While no official platforms are open to join ARPA-H, interested parties can review the ARPA-H listening and feedback sessions that focus on various life science and medical topics. Comments and suggestions can also be directed to ARPAHcomments@nih.gov.
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