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The administrative building of the National Institutes of Health is shown in Bethesda, Md., Monday, Aug. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Biden administration has selected Massachusetts as a focal point in a planned “nationwide health innovation network.”
Cambridge was announced Tuesday as the future site of the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health’s Investor Catalyst Hub, one of three such locations nationally that represent the official launch of ARPANET-H, a National Institutes of Health initiative aimed at fostering collaborations between researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors to speed the pace of discovery in medical science.
“This is a huge win for Massachusetts and an opportunity to bring economic development while strengthening our role as a nationwide leader in life sciences,” Gov. Maura Healey said following the announcement. “This hub leverages our state’s world-class life science ecosystem while building a national network of researchers and entrepreneurs to invest in meaningful solutions to the biggest health care challenges.”
A second hub, the Customer Experience hub, will be opened in Dallas, Texas, according to the Biden Administration. A third, the Stakeholders and Operations hub, will open in the D.C. area with an exact location to be announced later.
Along with planned expansion into other jurisdictions ARPA is setting the foundation, according to its director, for a 50-state network of health innovation support.
“Through this nationwide hub-and-spoke network, ARPANET-H will enable ARPA-H to create breakthrough capabilities and achieve health outcomes for everyone that are accessible, tangible, and measurably better. Regardless of location, ARPA-H funding will support the best and brightest ideas across the country, with opportunities for universities, companies, and non-traditional performers,” ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn said.
Hadley based non-profit VentureWell has been selected to run the Investor Catalyst Hub.
The organization has been working to solve complex healthcare issues for three decades, it’s CEO said.
“We bring the full set of organizational capabilities and experiences to accomplish ARPA-H’s goals and are honored to be given the opportunity to play a role in bringing life-changing medical and science breakthroughs out of the lab and into the hands of the people across the nation who need them,” VentureWell CEO Phil Weilerstein said in a statement.
ARPA-H came to being as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which President Joe Biden signed into law in March of 2022.
“ARPA-H will pursue ideas that break the mold on how we normally support fundamental research and commercial products in this country. Ideas so bold no one else, not even the private sector, is willing to give them a chance or to sink a lot of money into trying to solve. Ideas so audacious that people say they just might work only — if only we could try. Well, we’re about to try in a big way,” Biden said of the program.
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