This article was updated December 23, 2024.
We are pleased to announce that 24 awardees have been selected by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) for the Sprint for Women’s Health. The agency has committed $113 million to address critical unmet challenges in women’s health. The Sprint for Women’s Health is conducted in collaboration with the Investor Catalyst Hub of ARPANET-H, the agency’s nationwide health innovation network that connects people, innovators, and institutions to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone. The awardees (performers) will work directly with an ARPA-H Program Manager (PM) and the ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub to develop their proposed solution. VentureWell is the consortium management firm for the ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub.
This groundbreaking initiative is focused on the health conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. The awards spanned six topic areas across two funding tracks: one for early-stage research, or “spark” solutions; and the other for later-stage development, or “launchpad” solutions.
“We are excited to support this group of innovators in bringing forward their breakthrough solutions to close the gap in women’s health care,” said ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub Director and VentureWell Director, Programs, Health Commercialization Chelsea Schiller. “This is a critical moment for women’s health innovation, and we are committed to meeting it by advancing ARPA-H’s mission of accelerating better health outcomes for everyone.”
The Sprint for Women’s Health received over 1,700 submissions, representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, and 34 countries. Of the 24 awardees, 30% have never received government funding, 39% have fewer than 50 employees, and over 70% are led by women.
In addition to working with the ARPA-H Program Manager, launchpad performers will work with an entrepreneur-in-residence and participate in Launchpad Accelerator, which includes a customized curriculum, virtual events, and in-person workshops to support performer market transition. The Investor Catalyst Hub will issue milestone-based payments aligned with each performer’s research activities and performance objectives. Both tracks have a 24-month period of performance.
See the complete list of awardees on the ARPA-H website.