Building a Healthier Future Through Prevention
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a key innovation agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has released an updated solicitation for its Proactive Health Office (PHO) through the Mission Office Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO). This initiative, ARPA-H-SOL-24-106, seeks bold, interdisciplinary research that reimagines health from the ground up. Rather than treating illness after onset, the PHO ISO focuses on extending healthspan through proactive prevention, early detection, and wellness innovation.
ARPA-H’s overarching goal with this opening is to catalyze revolutionary science and technology that reduces disease burden before it manifests. The agency calls for ideas that push beyond the boundaries of traditional medicine, advancing interventions, behavioral models, and health systems that make prevention accessible, affordable, and equitable at population scale.
Inside the PHO ISO: A New Model for Preventative Innovation
The PHO ISO reflects ARPA-H’s recognition that the nation’s medical system remains largely reactive and focused on treating disease rather than preventing it. This solicitation encourages radically new solutions that improve population health prior to the onset of illness or decline in quality of life.
Key interest areas include:
- Novel prevention and early detection methods, including scalable sensing technologies and low-cost diagnostics.
- Behavioral and population-level interventions that drive widespread adoption of wellness-promoting behaviors, mental resilience, and independent aging.
- System innovations for delivering proactive care, including new valuation models for preventive interventions and predictive epidemiological modeling.
While disease-agnostic approaches are welcomed, ARPA-H will also consider transformative proposals targeting specific health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, infectious and neurological disorders, and maternal or pediatric health. Incremental improvements or clinical trial funding requests are not within scope, as ARPA-H seeks only disruptive, high-impact R&D that transforms the health landscape.
Proposal Process and Key Dates
The solicitation introduces a two-step submission process designed to ensure proposers align with ARPA-H’s high-risk, high-reward mission before investing significant resources:
- Solution Summary Submission: Required first step for written feedback from ARPA-H.
- Full Proposal Submission: Permitted only after receiving ARPA-H feedback.
Key Dates:
- Initial Release: March 14, 2024
- Amendment 03: October 14, 2025
- Q&A Period: Open continuously through the life of the solicitation
- Closing Date: March 5, 2029
Proposers will have 45 calendar days to submit a full proposal after receiving encouragement from ARPA-H on their Solution Summary. Submissions and inquiries must be submitted through the ARPA-H Solution Submission Portal.
Funding and Award Information
ARPA-H anticipates making multiple awards under this ISO, utilizing the Other Transaction (OT) mechanism to enable flexible, innovative contracting. Awards may be structured in phases or option-based segments to allow for scalability of successful efforts. While the specific dollar amounts are not predetermined, awards will be sized commensurate with project complexity and expected impact.
Eligible entities include academic institutions, non-profits, for-profit companies, hospitals, community health centers, and other non-federal research organizations. However, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and government entities are restricted from direct participation, except under exceptional justification.
Toward a Proactive Health Revolution
The PHO ISO stands to redefine how Americans experience health, shifting the national focus from reaction to prevention. Through cutting-edge science in early detection, behavioral health, and systems design, ARPA-H aims to dramatically reduce preventable disease and increase the years of life lived in full health.
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