Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health

What Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health does

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is a U.S. federal government agency established in 2022 within the Department of Health and Human Services, modeled on DARPA, to fund high-impact biomedical and health research that is too complex, too large, or too high-risk for traditional funding mechanisms or industry investment. The agency does not develop technology directly; instead, it operates a Program Manager model in which individual Program Managers identify hard health challenges, frame problems, and oversee multidisciplinary performer teams that compete to deliver solutions. Funding flows through Other Transaction (OT) Agreements with milestone-based payments rather than traditional grants, enabling the agency to reallocate capital from underperforming to higher-impact performers and to negotiate IP terms more flexibly than conventional federal contracts. The portfolio spans four focus areas — Health Science Futures, Scalable Solutions, Proactive Health, and Resilient Systems — and includes active programs such as THEA (whole-eye transplantation, up to $125M), FRONT (neocortical tissue repair, up to $174.8M), MOCS (obstetrics diagnostics and monitoring, up to $90.7M over four years), GLIDE (lymphatic medicines, up to $158M), OCULAB (tear-based biomarker sensing, up to $75.8M), 1-CURE (universal radiotherapy), HEARING (AI-driven intracortical hearing), REST (closed-loop sleep optimization), and a Scalable Solutions program anticipated to award up to 100 grants from a $500M pool.

ARPA-H serves three primary customer segments — academic research institutions (Stanford, MIT, CMU, Columbia, Rice, Pitt, Baylor, Weill Cornell), private-sector biotech and device companies (Sophrosyne Biosciences, Seaport Therapeutics, Owlstone Medical, ImmunoVec, Sera Prognostics, InSilicoTrials, Tempus AI, Siemens Healthineers), and government research organizations (NIH, USDA, FDA, VA collaborators) — plus cross-sector consortium teams that compete for awards. Revenue mechanics are federal appropriations: the agency received approximately $2.5B in FY2022, requested $5B for FY2024, and projects roughly $56B over 10 years per agency overview. Awards are publicly disclosed amounts denominated in U.S. dollars and typically span multi-year performance periods. Distribution runs through the ARPA-H Solutions Portal, SAM.gov solicitations, Proposers' Day events, and the ARPA-H Network (ARPANET-H) regional hub system, anchored by the Investor Catalyst Hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Strategically, ARPA-H is in a build-out phase. Director Alicia Jackson, Ph.D. (formerly DARPA Biological Technologies Office Deputy Director and Evernow CEO) was sworn in October 20, 2025, succeeding Acting Director Jason Roos. In February 2026 the agency laid off approximately 20 staff concentrated in operations and commercialization and issued a stop-work order to close its Cambridge Investor Catalyst Hub, while simultaneously launching major new programs (REST, HEARING, 1-CURE, MOCS) and Operation Trailblazer with FDA and NIH to compress early clinical trial timelines by 6–12 months. AI/ML is embedded as a core design constraint across the portfolio — predictive analytics, autonomous clinical agents, digital twins, in silico physiology, and multimodal biosensing all appear as funded capabilities rather than peripheral features. The agency's competitive moat is structural: sovereign capital, statutory positioning within HHS, and convening power over regulators (FDA, NIH, USDA) and leading academic and industrial performers.

Name

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health

Legal name

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health

Website

https://arpa-h.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ARPA-H is a U.S. federal agency within HHS that funds high-risk, high-impact biomedical and health research through milestone-based Other Transaction Agreements, serving academic institutions, biotech startups, and government research organizations across four program focus areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Health Research Funding

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH), ESG, Sustainability & Impact Research (BPAHALAL)

Keywords

• Health research funding
• Biomedical research grants
• Medical innovation programs
• Federal research agency
• Health technology development

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Appropriations: ARPA-H receives funding through Congressional appropriations. For FY26, NIH received $47.2 billion (0.9% increase) and NSF received $8.75 billion (3% cut versus proposed 56% reduction). ARPA-H is a non-dilutive funding source for performers, distributing funds through Other Transaction Agreements.
2. Award Disbursements: ARPA-H provides non-dilutive funding to performers including academic institutions, private industry, and government organizations through milestone-based Other Transaction Agreements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ARPA-H funds high-impact, high-risk biomedical and health research programs through milestone-based Other Transaction agreements with performer teams across four focus areas: Health Science Futures, Scalable Solutions, Proactive Health, and Resilient Systems. The agency does not develop technology directly; instead, Program Managers identify difficult health challenges and oversee multidisciplinary performer teams competing to solve them with milestone-based performance evaluation.

Product overview

ARPA-H is a U.S. government health research funding agency that does not sell commercial products or services. Instead, it funds high-impact research programs across four focus areas: Health Science Futures, Scalable Solutions, Proactive Health, and Resilient Systems. The agency's portfolio includes transformative research programs such as THEA (eye transplantation), OCULAB (tear-based biomarker monitoring), MOCS (smart obstetrics care), FRONT (brain tissue repair), REST (sleep optimization), HEARING (brain-driven hearing restoration), DELPHI (biosensor chiplets), CIRCLE (critical care AI), BIOGAMI (protein dysfunction repair), 1-CURE (universal cancer radiotherapy), and IGoR (AI-powered research generation). These programs are awarded to multidisciplinary performer teams through Other Transaction agreements and are measured against strict performance milestones.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• THEA (Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts) Program to enable whole functional eye transplantation to restore vision for the blind and visually impaired, focusing on optic nerve repair and regeneration, donor eye retrieval and preservation, and surgical procedures.
• OCULAB (Ocular Laboratory for Analysis of Biomarkers) Program to develop a tear-based biomarker measurement system inserted into the tear duct for continuous health monitoring with closed-loop therapeutic dosing for personalized treatment.
• MOCS (Making Obstetrics Care Smart) Program to develop point-of-care diagnostics and next-generation fetal monitoring technology using AI to provide real-time information about baby's oxygen levels during labor and delivery.
• FRONT (Functional Repair of Neocortical Tissue) Program to develop precursor tissue generation technologies to repair damaged neocortex tissue by regrowing new tissue capable of restoring lost brain function from stroke, trauma, or neurodegeneration.
• REST (Restorative & health-Enhancing Sleep Time) Program to develop first closed-loop, in-home technologies that can objectively measure health-relevant features of sleep and adaptively correct poor sleep in real time across the night.
• HEARING (Hearing Enhancement through Artificially Intelligent Neurotechnology) Program to develop first-ever minimally invasive hearing system that works directly with the brain's hearing centers using intracortical devices, dynamic sound modulation, and auditory read/write algorithms.
• STOMP (Systematic Targeting Of MicroPlastics) Program to detect, understand health impacts of, and remove toxic microplastics from the body.
• DELPHI (Developing self-monitoring ecosystems to 'know thyself') Program to create discreet and low-cost wearable devices using next-generation chiplet platforms for continuous tracking of deep biological information including hormones, immune markers, and therapeutic drug levels.
• CIRCLE (Critical Illness Immunological Reprogramming and Control Point Learning Engine) Program to develop digital twin capabilities to treat critical illness using AI and diagnostics, determining immune system control points for better use of immunotherapies in ICU settings.
• BIOGAMI (BIOmolecular Grammar for protein Aggregation Modulation and Intervention) Program to detect and repair earliest stages of protein dysfunction to eliminate neurodegenerative disease by decoding molecular grammar guiding protein behavior.
• 1-CURE (One Comprehensive Universal Radiotherapy for Everyone) Program to develop single, rapid, low-cost radiotherapy approach effective for all cancers including metastatic and RT-resistant cancers using smart radiotherapy biomaterials and AI-driven treatment planning.
• IGoR (Intelligent Generator of Research) Program to make biomedical research faster and more rigorous through AI-powered research generation tools.

Quantifiable outcome

• MOCS program aims to save $1 billion annually in unnecessary C-sections and prevent complications for 134,000 term babies born with severe hypoxia annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability12 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

48 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Sera PrognosticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026MOCS initiative participant developing point-of-care diagnostic test for safer childbirth. Multi-institutional research program award up to $10.4M. Collaboration with Allegro MicroSystems.
• University of California San DiegocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026MOCS program performer developing point-of-care blood test for fetal hypoxia risk assessment using multiomic analysis of fetal and maternal proteins, nucleic acids, and extracellular vesicles. Award up to $3M.
• Carnegie Mellon UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026MOCS program performer developing wearable multimodal platform for real-time fetal oxygen assessment combining optical sensing, fetal EEG, and NIRS. Award up to $11.4M. Also leading OMEGA program ($39.3M) for fetal distress monitoring.
• Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026MOCS program performer developing smart belt electrode array with ear sensor for maternal-fetal monitoring. Award up to $2.6M for HARMONI project.
• FDAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Operation Trailblazer partner aiming to reduce early trial timelines by 6-12 months. FDA issued draft guidance on evidence requirements for drug approvals.
• NIHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Operation Trailblazer contributor providing AI tools, personalized gene-editing research, and streamlined trial activation processes.
• Linnaeus TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026PROSPR program performer studying LNS8801 drug candidate for healthspan preservation. Award up to $22M.
• Sophrosyne Biosciences, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026FRONT program performer developing precursor tissue grafts for neocortical brain tissue regeneration. Award up to $174.8M.
• University of Colorado BouldercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2026NITRO program performer developing experimental injectable therapy for osteoarthritis ($33.5M grant). Also Wyss Institute and Columbia University collaborating.
• Siemens HealthineerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Developing photon flash therapy - experimental targeted radiation treatment delivering radiotherapy 100x faster than current options. Award up to $60M over five years.
• Northeastern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026UPGRADE program awardee ($19M) developing digital twins for autonomous patching platforms for medical devices in hospitals.
• Vanderbilt UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026UPGRADE program awardee ($4.3M) for vulnerability mitigation. Also DigiSeals program ($50M) maintaining funding with UC San Diego's 'Crashcart' project.
• Georgia TechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026UPGRADE program awardee ($4.3M) developing vulnerability emulation for medical device cybersecurity.
• IlluminacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2026Data partnership with Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine analyzing 100,000 pediatric whole genomes. Supporting Pediatric Care eXpansion program.
• SonoNeucoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026Sonogenetics program performer developing sonogenetics for medical use including neuropathy treatment. Award up to $41.3M led by Salk Institute.
• BioCuriecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026AI-driven cell and gene therapy manufacturing platform development. Consortium includes Caring Cross, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Center for Breakthrough Medicines, and University City Science Center. Award up to $9.3M.
• Transposon TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026PROSPR program performer studying anti-aging drug TPN-101 for extending healthspan. Award up to $22M with multiple university collaborations.
• WHOOPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026THRIVE initiative partner contributing continuous physiological data from wearable devices. Stanford-led coalition developing Intrinsic Capacity score. Total initiative $34.5M.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026THRIVE initiative lead. Coalition includes Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Methuselah Foundation, YMCA, and OpenCures developing FDA-grade Intrinsic Capacity score.
• Rice UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026ELIXIR regenerative therapy lead for lymphedema treatment using engineered cells via minimally invasive injections. Award up to $18.2M. Also PRINT program partner.
• Seaport TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026GLIDE program performer advancing GlyphCele oral therapeutic for restoring gut lymphatic function. Award up to $15M with Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
• NIHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026Partner in $200M initiative ($100M from NIH grand prize challenge) for cumulative chemical exposure research as part of Make America Healthy Again Commission.
• USDAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026Partner in $1 billion+ farm modernization initiative contributing $840M across conservation and innovation programs. ARPA-H providing $100M for non-chemical crop protection.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026OCULAB program performer developing carbon nanotube-based sensors for DED and diabetes biomarkers. Award part of $75.8M total OCULAB program.
• Lacristat, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026OCULAB program performer creating nanostructured electrodes for dry eye detection and metabolic health monitoring.
• University of Southern CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026OCULAB program performer developing programmable imprintable polymer sensors for DED and depression biomarkers. Also conducting psilocybin clinical trial under EVIDENT initiative.
• Cambrian BiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026PROSPR program performer developing next-generation mTORC1-selective inhibitor for preserving intrinsic capacity. Award up to $30.8M.
• UT San Antonio Barshop InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Leading first nationwide clinical study on healthy longevity evaluating FDA-approved medications like rapamycin, dapagliflozin, and semaglutide for age-related decline. Award up to $38M.
• DrapercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2026CATALYST program performer developing in silico models of human physiology using PREDICT96 microphysiological system. Award up to $26.7M. Also developing BUMP pregnancy safety testing platform.
• Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2026PRINT program lead developing bioprinted vascularized kidney tissue from patients' own cells. Award up to $24.8M over five years.
• PrintBio, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2026PRINT program performer contributing 3D bioprinting expertise for kidney tissue bioprinting. Also partners with University of Maryland, Rice University, and UT El Paso.
• Cleveland CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2026Leading multi-institutional team including Georgia Tech, UT Austin, and UT Southwestern for wearable multimodal sensor device for congenital heart disease monitoring. Two-year grant.
• Weill Cornell MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2026LANTERN project lead ($5.2M) developing diagnostic toolbox for lymphatic disease using nanotechnology, AI, and genetic analysis. Collaborators include Memorial Sloan Kettering, Georgia Tech, and Stanford Medicine.
• Children's Brain Tumor NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2026PCX program participant leveraging research network and RADIANT AI platform for pediatric brain cancer data sharing across 200+ hospitals.
• InSilicoTrialscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 December 2025CARDIOVERSE initiative partner led by The Jackson Laboratory developing virtual heart models for cardiac drug safety prediction. Award up to $30M.
• Poppy HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2025BREATHE program lead ($39M) developing real-time indoor air hazard detection for schools with Attune as IoT sensor technology supporter.
• Inductive BiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025DATAMAP project lead developing AI drug toxicity prediction models. Partners include Amgen, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, and Torch Bio. Award up to $21M.
• University of Pittsburgh Human Engineering Research LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2025RAMMP program lead developing Robotic Assisted Mobility and Manipulation Platform for wheelchair users. $41.5M award with VA collaboration.
• Assistive Technology Development, Inc. (ATDev)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2025RAMMP program subcontractor developing open-source robotic assistive mobility technologies integrating advanced robotics and AI.
• Baylor UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 October 2025ARPA-H performer exploring bacteriophage-based therapies as antibiotic alternatives. Award up to $28M for antimicrobial resistance research.
• ImmunoVec Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2025Developing precision cell therapy technology targeting autoimmune diseases through DNA-loaded nanoparticle platform. Award up to $40.7M.
• Owlstone MedicalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2025Developing at-home multi-cancer-early detection tests. Award up to $49.1M.
• Tempus AI, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025Adapt Program performer providing CRO and testing services for advancing precision cancer therapy.
• AmgencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 August 2025DATAMAP project partner contributing to AI drug toxicity prediction models using human biology-based systems. Planning to submit IND using the technology.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2024THEA program performer focusing on donor eye procurement, cell regeneration strategies, and transplant surgeries. Award up to $56.2M.
• University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampuscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2024THEIA program performer developing novel stem cell and bioelectronic technologies for nerve regeneration. Award up to $46.6M.
• InGel TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2024THEA program performer developing 3D printed click-lock gel technology with micro-tunneled scaffolds for optic nerve repair. Award up to $5M.
• University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2024THEA program performer focusing on donor eye procurement and preservation with eye-ECMO device. Award up to $5.3M.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH is the largest federal biomedical research funder, allocating ~$47B annually across 27 institutes. ARPA-H operates within HHS alongside NIH but uses a distinct DARPA-style program manager model; NIH's traditional R01 grant mechanism makes it the closest institutional comparator and potential absorber if ARPA-H is restructured.
• National Science Foundation (NSF): NSF is a major federal basic research funder ($8.75B FY26) across all scientific disciplines. While broader and using traditional grants rather than OT contracts, NSF is a structural comparator as a federal research funding agency subject to the same appropriations volatility.
• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome Trust is a major private biomedical and health research funder (~$40B endowment) with a global mandate. It offers a useful comparator on portfolio scale, mission breadth, and the strategic tension between private and public funding for high-risk health R&D that ARPA-H also navigates.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI): HHMI is a large private biomedical research organization (~$24B endowment) supporting investigator-driven science at major universities. It is a peer in the sense of providing sustained, high-impact biomedical research funding outside traditional NIH grant mechanisms.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Gates Foundation is the world's largest private philanthropy, deploying tens of billions into global health R&D with explicit high-risk-tolerance and product development partnership structures (matching ARPA-H's PDP-adjacent approach). It is a useful scale and mission comparator for ARPA-H's bolder programs.

Direct peers

• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): DARPA is the direct model and operational template for ARPA-H, including the Program Manager model, milestone-based OT agreements, and multi-performer competition. ARPA-H explicitly imports DARPA's playbook into HHS, and ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson is a DARPA Biological Technologies Office alumna.
• Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA): BARDA is a sibling HHS agency funding advanced development of medical countermeasures (vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics) for public health emergencies. It shares ARPA-H's OT contracting approach and HHS parent, making it a directly comparable federal biomedical R&D funder, though narrower in scope (focused on MCM).
• Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E): ARPA-E is the DOE counterpart to DARPA, applying the same Program Manager model and milestone-based OT contracts to energy R&D. As a sister 'ARPA-X' agency, ARPA-E provides the closest structural template for how ARPA-H operates and faces similar appropriations risk.
• Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA): IARPA is the intelligence community's ARPA-style research arm, applying Program Manager model and OT contracting to high-risk IC research. As a sister 'ARPA-X' agency, IARPA shares ARPA-H's institutional DNA and policy design even though it operates in a different domain.

Emerging players

• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: CFF pioneered venture philanthropy and milestone-based drug development funding, ultimately producing transformational CF therapies. As an early-stage peer in mission-driven, milestone-based biomedical R&D funding, CFF provides a relevant model for ARPA-H's hybrid public/private funding approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ARPA_H
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@arpa-h
• Facebookfacebook.com/ARPAHealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arpa-h
• Instagraminstagram.com/arpahealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments72 records

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Frequently asked questions about Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health