An agency within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) tabbed Massachusetts as the host of its Investor Catalyst Hub.
The federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) selected Massachusetts as the hub. It supports ARPA-H’s mission to foster collaboration among researchers, entrepreneurs and investors. Established as a separate entity inside the NIH in 2022, the agency aims to accelerate innovative ideas that transform healthcare.
In a press briefing, ARPA-H Director Dr. Renee Wegrzyn announced the selection of Massachusetts. This formally launched ARPANET-H, a nationwide health innovation network comprised of three hubs across the U.S. ARPA-H chose Hadley, Massachusetts-based VentureWell to run and manage the Massachusetts-based hub. It will focus on helping the agency navigate the business and regulatory landscape and provide resources to bring ideas to market.
“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. We’re excited to partner with ARPA-H and the Biden Administration to support the innovative ideas and breakthrough technologies that will revolutionize health care for all Americans,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, “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 healthcare challenges. We thank the Biden Administration for making this critical funding available and our incredible federal delegation for their strong partnership throughout this process.”
More about the Massachusetts hub
The hub, located in Greater Boston, will be supported by “spokes” around the country. These “spokes” feature partner organizations like hospitals, health centers and research and academic institutions. Target areas for developing solutions include diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia and more.
Partnering with VentureWell brings the state experience in partnerships with public and private institutions. They bring solutions from the research lab to market through funding, training, mentorship and network support.
As manager of the hub, VentureWell will design and manage the build-out of the hub and its spoke network. That includes recruiting and engaging diverse organizations representing financing and innovation, academic and clinical priorities, and care-setting transitions.
“VentureWell has spent nearly three decades delivering on our mission – to solve the world’s biggest challenges and to create lasting impact through science and technology innovation and entrepreneurship and we see valuable opportunity in continuing to scale this work through our partnership with ARPA-H,” said Phil Weilerstein, president & CEO of VentureWell. “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.”
The establishment of the hub received statements of support from a number of prominent Massachusetts figures. The list includes U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, among others.
Warren said the choice of Massachusetts marks “fantastic news for our country.” She added that the hub can build on the state’s existing ecosystem to accelerate medical breakthroughs.
Markey added that he expects the state to “continue to lead the nation” in developing cutting-edge health solutions.
