Texas named one of three ARPA-H hubs, Dallas wins major award » Dallas Innovates

In a big win for Texas and a big boost for Dallas, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a national health innovation network anchored by ARPA-H's three regional hubs, We announced the launch of ARPANET-H.

The $2.5 billion ARPA-H initiative, which aims to revolutionize medical research, is modeled after the Defense Research Agency DARPA. In a multi-city bid in Texas, Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio competed to win one of the regional hubs from the newly created federal agency.

Today's announcement awards one of three ARPA-H hubs to the Texas Consortium. The hub is a customer experience hub physically located at Pegasus Park, a 26-acre life sciences and social impact-focused campus in Dallas.

The other two hubs include the Investor Catalyst hub awarded in Cambridge, Massachusetts; A stakeholder and operations hub will be located in the Washington, DC area.

Aiming for “innovative breakthroughs” in science and medicine

The agency said these hubs would be “mission-driven regional centers with a growing network of spokespeople from across the country who represent the diversity of people, settings, and abilities that span the U.S. healthcare ecosystem.” “The hub and spokes,” he added. ” works with ARPA-H to foster innovative breakthroughs in science and medicine that improve health outcomes.

ARPANET-H's overarching goal is to solve health problems faster and bring accessible and equitable solutions to the American people more quickly, and to develop new ways to prevent, detect, and treat health problems. “By driving innovation, we will advance President Biden's unified agenda.” Cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and other diseases. ”

ARPA-H Director Dr. Renee Wegrzyn said ARPA-H “has a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to improve the well-being of all Americans.”

“Through this national hub-and-spoke network, ARPANET-H will create breakthrough capabilities that will enable everyone to achieve tangible, measurable better health outcomes that are accessible to everyone.” Wegzin he said in a statement. “Regardless of location, ARPA-H funding supports the best ideas across the country and provides opportunities for universities, businesses, and non-traditional activists.”

“ARPANET-H is a testament to our commitment to inclusivity and innovation in health care,” added HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “With a wide range of cutting-edge medical capabilities, this dynamic national network embodies our unwavering mission to advance health outcomes in every corner of the country and beyond.”

Hub's victory is the result of two years of multi-city collaboration

The acquisition of the Texas hub is the result of a two-year multi-city effort that began with three bids: Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. Houston initially filed its own application but later joined the partnership.

“We were thrilled to have them as a partner in our final bid,” said Nicole Small, CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

And that's not all, Small told Dallas Innovates today.

“We are very excited about Texas. We are excited about the future of health in this country. We're really excited about the opportunity to play a role. Important discoveries are going to be made and we're excited for Texas to play a role.

ARPA-H is the “cancer moonshot” etc.

Tom Ruth

In April, Tom Luce, CEO of Biotechnology Initiatives at Lyda Hill Philanthropies, cited the region's robust healthcare system and the diversity of the three cities as key factors in attracting the consortium. He listed his medical and research expertise.

Ruth said the Biden administration created ARPA-H to improve health outcomes for America's diverse population. President Biden has described ARPA-H as a “cancer moonshot,” but the program is aimed at addressing many other medical issues, including disease. Ruth pointed out that brain abnormalities, obesity, and diabetes are among the causes.

“A key part of ARPA-H is translating the research into something that is actually administered to patients and hopefully changing outcomes,” Ruth said in April. “We're not very good at specific health outcomes, especially outcomes for specific populations.”

Luce said Texas is the second-largest funder of cancer research in the country, making it an important hub for the agency.

“I think this is going to really put Dallas on the map in the biological life sciences field,” Luce said in April, adding that locating the ARPA-H site here would “bring North Texas and the state to the center of the country.” It is a base for bio-life sciences.”

In today's announcement, Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson said the ARPA-H hub will “create an influx of jobs, talent and innovation, further cementing Dallas' position as a global leader in medical and biomedical research.” “I will.”

News announced just before BioNTX iC3 Summit

nicole small

News of the ARPA-H hub's victory was announced just days before the 9th annual BioNTX iC3 Summit, which will be held this week. At this summit, the nonprofit life sciences industry association once again brings together top members of North Texas' biotechnology and healthcare. The summit, to be held in Irving on September 28th and 29th, will bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, companies and supporting organizations to build relationships that drive progress.

“We want things to be as perfectly timed as possible,” Small joked.

Small called the hub's win “an incredibly collaborative effort.”

“We are excited to be part of the team that contributed to this bid,” she said. “People say, 'It's the same in Texas, it's the same across the country,' but we're talking about a customer experience focused on patients, patient experience, and clinical trials. Texas has an incredibly diverse community. and, like most parts of the country, we have incredible health challenges. The tender was collaborative in nature, with over 1,000 partners participating in the tender. I think this is a very exciting opportunity for us to come together.”

Small noted that cities came together in powerful ways to achieve victory.

“It's very unique to be able to show that kind of unity as a nation. It's really a Texas bid. It just happens to be right here in Dallas, but this is actually Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas. , and a collaborative effort of many small cities across the state. It was really about collaboration.”

Taking the Dallas region to the “next level” with life science and biotech innovation

Dale Petroski, president and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber, said the DRC provided key economic development, research and policy support throughout the ARPA-H bid process, including recommendations to the selection committee. It was pointed out that it was provided.

“The news that ARPA-H’s Customer Experience Hub is coming to Dallas confirms what the Dallas Regional Chamber has known and is committed to: the Dallas region is becoming a powerhouse of life science and biotech innovation. Yes,” Petrosky said in a statement. “Bringing this hub to Pegasus Park will take this to the next level and bring more job opportunities to the Dallas area.”

“Many partners across the state supported this effort,” he added. “So this moment is another example of how Texas' collaborative spirit is leading to more and more opportunities for Texans and businesses. The Dallas Chamber is extremely proud of this victory. We are excited about this and will do everything we can to help make this great opportunity a success.”

Texas Hub Main Goals

The customer experience hub, which will be physically located at Pegasus Park in Dallas, will focus on developing health solutions that are “accessible, needed, and ready to deploy,” ARPA-H said. “An aggressive approach is needed to diversify clinical trials and reach representative patient populations, leading to better and more equitable health outcomes for everyone.”

“By using a hub-and-spoke model, we are able to achieve efficiencies that could not be achieved using other methods, such as quickly reaching patients, providers, and other stakeholders,” said ARPA-H Director Wegrzyn. ”. “He pays homage to the history of DARPA's original ARPANET, which ultimately became the Internet, and we are establishing the foundation for an ambitious 50-state network that will support medical innovation across the country.”

ARPA-H has selected “Consortium Management Company,” South Carolina-based Advanced Technology International (ATI), to manage the Customer Experience Hub.

At Pegasus Park, ARPA-H will have access to dedicated office and collaboration space alongside ATI. The management company said San Antonio will work with CMF program executives to serve as the lead facilitator for immersive experience design in Texas. an economic driver “given its diverse population, unique health challenges, and highly connected healthcare and bioscience industries that rank among the region's largest.” ”

Potential consortium members from across the country will support the launch of the Customer Experience Hub and its mission to accelerate innovation across clinical trials, health outcomes measurement, advanced manufacturing, human-centered design, testing and evaluation, and data integration. ATI added that it has expressed interest in doing so.

Consider the first steps in this “very new news”

So what do you see first from the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub?

“Obviously, this is all very new news,” Small said. “It's going to take some time to see how things play out. But partnering with Boston right away sends an important message to the community that Texas is open when we talk about science.” There's going to be some really exciting programs starting from the ARPA-H hub, and we hope that we can continue to tell the stories about science and life sciences here in Texas. I am.”

Small sees great potential in connecting Dallas and Boston.

“The fact that North Texas was chosen along with Boston tells a really strong story,” she said. “Boston is well known as a center for life sciences. This is an opportunity for Dallas to connect with Boston and connect with the life sciences community. This was a national competitive bidding process. We tell our community that we care about the institution we have here. We care about our patient population, and that it will continue to enhance the exciting research and science that's happening here. think.”

Pegasus Park provided an “easy to tell” story

Pegasus Park Main Building [Image: Pegasus Park]

“The fact that Pegasus Park already existed as a life sciences hub made the story a lot easier to tell,” Small said of the hub’s win. “We already have a great community of life science companies, universities, partners and venture funds that spend time here. For us, it was a no-brainer to connect with this piece. is aligned with Pegasus' mission to improve the lives of our communities. All of these things make it a great partnership. All the parts and pieces are coming together.”

Quincy Preston contributed to this report.