A public-private partnership between ARPA-H and VentureWell in support of the ARPANET-H nationwide health innovation network. Website is maintained by VentureWell staff.

ARPA-H Announces Site Selections by Launching Nationwide Health
Innovation Network

Greater Boston Area, MA, Selected as Investor Catalyst Hub Location

September 26, 2023: The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) today announced the launch of ARPANET-H, a nationwide health innovation network anchored by three regional hubs—one focused on customer experience, another on catalyzing the investor community, and a third leading stakeholder and operations efforts. The hubs are mission-focused, regional centers with a growing network of spokes from around the country representing the diversity of people, settings, and capabilities that encompass the American health ecosystem. Together, the hubs and spokes will collaborate with ARPA-H to catalyze game-changing breakthroughs in science and medicine.

Concluding a competitive process, ARPA-H has selected two Consortium Management Firms (CMF) as awardees to organize and operate the Customer Experience and Investor Catalyst hubs. VentureWell will manage the Investor Catalyst Hub, located in Cambridge, MA, in the Greater Boston metropolitan area. Advanced Technology International will manage the Customer Experience hub, located in Texas, and ARPA-H will operate the Stakeholder and Operations hub directly.

“VentureWell has spent nearly three decades with a singular mission—to solve the world’s biggest challenges and to create lasting impact through science and technology innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Mark Marino, Vice President of Growth Strategy and Development at VentureWell. “Enabled by visionary leadership at the state level, we are able to mobilize a dynamic network of Massachusetts’ higher education institutions, hospital and healthcare systems, research institutions, nonprofit organizations, for-profit industries, small businesses, investors, incubators, and community-based organizations—all committed to supporting a nationwide health innovation network that seeks to advance ARPA-H’s mission.”

  • The Investor Catalyst hub will focus on speeding the transition of innovative ideas into practical, accessible solutions by engaging with researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors.
  • The Customer Experience hub will focus on developing health solutions that will be accessible, needed, and readily adopted. It will take a proactive approach to diversify clinical trials, reach representative patient populations, and more, leading to better outcomes for all.
  • The Stakeholder and Operations hub will be adjacent to many intergovernmental partners and stakeholders. Following a competitive review, ARPA-H will select the final site located in the National Capital Region, using federal leasing and acquisition procedures. The announcement is anticipated later in 2023.

Each CMF will provide all necessary expertise to run their respective hub, with the aim of significantly speeding up research and development timelines. Hubs will include CMF teaming partners and spokes from a number of health science communities to ensure ARPA-H advancements are transitioned to those that stand to benefit the most. The period of performance for each hub is five years, consisting of a one-year base and four one-year options.

At launch, initial spokes reflect a broad range of expertise, community voices, and areas of the country. The spoke network will be dynamic, representing all 50 states, many territories, and tribal nations, and continue to evolve to meet the needs of ARPANET-H. Each spoke will provide a unique capability complementary to its associated hub, and each hub will recruit and work collaboratively with its spokes to maximize their effectiveness.

Interested organizations across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors with relevant capabilities can apply to be a spoke. More information about the Investor Catalyst Hub can be found at investorcatalysthub-org.go-vip.net, including how to apply to be a spoke. Additional spokes will be announced on an ongoing basis.

Media Contact
Angela Russo
Director, Marketing & Communications
VentureWell
hello@venturewell.org