The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has announced its first Sprint for Women’s Health awardees, investing $110 million across 23 projects focused on women’s healthcare. The initiative, which drew more than 1,700 submissions from over 30 countries, targets critical areas including brain health, reproductive health, and cardiovascular disease.
“It’s been less than 10 months since we first launched the Sprint for Women’s Health where we asked for bold and transformative women’s health solutions. Now with these awardees, we are sprinting towards changing the lives of millions of women who have been left behind in research for far too long. It’s not just the great science we’re pursuing, but a different way of doing business in the government. Integral to the Sprint is to catalyze this ecosystem where we know there’s a huge market for women’s health,” said Renee Wegrzyn, Director of ARPA-H.
The awarded projects span six key focus areas: Women’s Health at Home, Prioritizing Ovarian Health, ARTEMIS: Modeling Sex Differences, Women’s Brain Health, Measurements of Chronic Pain, and Revolutionary Breakthroughs. Projects range from early-stage research (“Spark” track) to later-stage development (“Launchpad” track).
In Women’s Health at Home, projects include Gravidas Diagnostics’ at-home preeclampsia detection test, Daré Bioscience’s home-based HPV treatment, and Glaucus’s affordable STI/UTI testing solution. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is developing an at-home treatment for preterm labor, while Aalto University in Finland is working on remote monitoring for safe labor induction.
The Ovarian Health category features Celmatix’s work on extending ovarian function and Gameto’s development of ovarian implants to prevent menopause-related diseases. The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory is advancing sex-specific drug testing models under the ARTEMIS program.
Brain health research includes Massachusetts General Hospital’s glymphatic health tracker and the University of North Carolina’s migraine treatment research. GE Medical Systems is studying cognitive decline gender disparities, while Monash University in Australia develops stroke treatments. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is evaluating brain disorders through aquaporin activity.
Pain measurement innovations come from multiple institutions: Washington University is developing a blood test for pain levels, Tufts University is creating an AI-enabled smart band-aid, California Institute of Technology is working on a sweat-sensing system, and Children’s Research Institute is developing new pain measurement techniques.
Revolutionary breakthrough projects include the Wyss Institute’s lymphoid organ cancer therapy, University of Iowa’s nanoparticles for ovarian cancer, and Aspira Women’s Health’s non-invasive endometriosis test. General Proximity, Nura Health, and Ancilia Biosciences are respectively developing cancer treatments, endometriosis platforms, and vaginal health therapies.
The program has achieved significant diversity in its recipients: over 70% of the projects are woman-led, 39% were awarded to colleges or universities, and 30% of recipients have never received government funding before. Nine projects were awarded to small businesses or startups.
