Cambridge has been chosen as one of three national hubs for a new federal health research agency that plans to spend billions to accelerate breakthroughs to vanquish diseases like cancers and Alzheimer’s.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, created by the Biden Administration to tackle long-intractable illnesses, said Tuesday that Cambridge will be the site of its “investor catalyst” hub that will work with researchers, entrepreneurs, and financiers to speed the transition of basic research into new technologies or medicines.
ARPA-H will be based in the Washington area, where its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, is located. As part of a “hub-and-spoke” structure, a third hub, in Dallas, will focus on the customer experience of American patients. The three hubs will also work with 10 “spoke” sites in Birmingham, Ala., Anchorage, Alaska, San Diego, Aurora, Colorado, Orlando, Rochester, Minn., Tahlequah, Okla., Philadelphia, Seattle, and Milwaukee, to forge partnerships.