Washington (May 17, 2022) – As the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) makes headway in standing up the new Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to improve the federal government’s ability to speed biomedical and health research, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) led his colleagues Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representatives Richard E. Neal (MA-01), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), William R. Keating (MA-09), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Jake Auchincloss (MA-04) in a letter advocating with the Biden administration and HHS to locate the new agency in Massachusetts. The lawmakers argue the Commonwealth is the biomedical and innovation hub of the nation, home to the world’s leading universities, hospitals, and research institutions and a breadth of diverse talent that are well-suited to support and strengthen the mission of ARPA-H.

“Massachusetts has an unmatched reputation as an idea factory, a force for positive disruption that yields revolutionary advancement and is the envy of the world,” write the Massachusetts Congressional delegation. “As ARPA-H seeks to accelerate medical breakthroughs and invest in high-risk, high-reward projects aimed at preventing and curing infectious and rare diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and other serious conditions, the federal government and the American people would be the beneficiaries of the rich innovation ecosystem in Massachusetts.”  

A copy of the letter can be found HERE.

In their letter, the lawmakers note that the Commonwealth is home to several of the top research universities in the world, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts system, Boston University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, and Brandeis University, among many others. This academic community supports leading research institutions, such as the Broad Institute, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Mass General Research Institute, which are home to numerous Nobel laureates and leading researchers in medicine, genetics, biology, and chemistry. As well, Massachusetts has long been home to public-private collaborations that have spurred innovation. The Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC) is a one-of-a-kind quasi-public agency that leverages public and private funding to make local investments in research and development, and manufacturing and commercialization in life sciences.

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