Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death globally, with existing treatment modalities often limited by cost, accessibility, and effectiveness, particularly for metastatic disease. In response, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has released an Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) under solicitation ARPA-H-SOL-26-147 for the One Comprehensive Universal Radiotherapy for Everyone (1-CURE) program. This initiative seeks to fundamentally transform cancer care by developing a single, rapid, and low-cost radiotherapy solution effective across all cancer types, leveraging emerging advances in ultra-high dose rate radiation and biomaterials to improve both local and systemic outcomes.
Technical Objectives Overview
The 1-CURE program is centered on integrating FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT), an ultra-high dose rate radiation approach, with smart radiotherapy biomaterials (SRBs) to enable a unified, scalable treatment paradigm. FLASH-RT offers the potential to deliver radiation at dose rates exceeding 40 Gy/s while minimizing damage to healthy tissue, while SRBs introduce multifunctional capabilities such as image-guided targeting and sustained immunoadjuvant delivery. Together, these technologies aim to enhance the abscopal effect, enabling treatment of both localized and metastatic tumors through systemic immune activation.
The 1-CURE program is organized into two technical areas that together support the development of a comprehensive radiotherapy solution.
Technical Area 1 (TA1): Immunogenic Nanoparticle Smart Radiotherapy Biomaterials (SRBs) focuses on the development of smart radiotherapy biomaterials (SRBs) that can be used in combination with radiotherapy. These SRBs are described as nanoparticle-based approaches intended to enhance the effects of radiation treatment and support immune system engagement. The solicitation emphasizes the role of SRBs in enabling improved therapeutic outcomes through their interaction with radiation delivery and biological response mechanisms.
Technical Area 2 (TA2): Abscopal Treatment Planning System (ATPS) centers on the development of an Abscopal Treatment Planning System (ATPS) to support treatment planning that accounts for both local and systemic effects of radiotherapy. The ATPS is intended to incorporate considerations beyond traditional radiation planning, with a focus on enabling treatment approaches that can address both primary and distant disease.
Together, these two technical areas reflect the program’s emphasis on integrating material-based innovations with advanced treatment planning approaches to support the broader goal of improving radiotherapy effectiveness across cancer types.
Program Overview
This solicitation follows ARPA-H’s hallmark model of milestone-driven, high-impact research, requiring performers to propose bold, multidisciplinary solutions that can translate into real-world clinical applications. The program emphasizes not only technical innovation, but also scalability, accessibility, and patient-centered outcomes, with explicit expectations for integration across engineering, biology, clinical practice, and commercialization pathways.
The submission process is structured in two stages. First, proposers must submit a Solution Summary outlining the proposed concept, team, and approach. Based on ARPA-H feedback, selected teams are encouraged to submit a Full Proposal, which includes a detailed technical plan, milestones, and cost information. This phased approach enables early alignment with program goals while reducing unnecessary proposal burden.
Key Dates and Submission Timeline
ARPA-H has outlined the following critical deadlines for the 1-CURE solicitation:
- April 8, 2026 (11:59 PM ET): Questions and Answers (Q&A) submission deadline
- April 15, 2026 (11:59 PM ET): Solution Summaries due
- May 22, 2026 (11:59 PM ET): Full Proposals due
Additionally, ARPA-H will host an optional Proposers’ Day via Special Notice ARPA-H-SN-26-152 to provide further program insight and facilitate teaming opportunities among potential applicants.
Funding Overview
The 1-CURE program anticipates awarding multiple Other Transaction (OT) agreements, with final award decisions dependent on proposal quality and available funding.
While the solicitation does not specify individual award sizes or total program funding, it clearly indicates a competitive, merit-based selection process in which ARPA-H may fund all, some, or none of the submitted proposals.
Awards may be structured in phases, including optional phases, allowing ARPA-H to make go or no-go decisions based on technical progress and milestone achievement.
Advancing Human Health Through Transformative Cancer Therapies
The 1-CURE program represents a bold step toward a future where cancer treatment is universally accessible, highly effective, and significantly less burdensome for patients. By combining next-generation radiotherapy with immunogenic biomaterials, ARPA-H aims to enable a paradigm shift from fragmented, disease-specific treatments to a single, comprehensive therapeutic approach capable of addressing both localized and metastatic cancers.
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