Sprint for Women's Health awards aim to close gaps in women's health research

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Biden-Harris Administration announces ARPA-H's Sprint for Women’s Health awards aimed at closing gaps in women’s health research  

$110 million awarded will accelerate next generation of discoveries and create a portfolio of investments  

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today announced the teams selected by its Sprint for Women’s Health to receive awards. The agency committed over $110 million to fund solutions for health conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. This effort will advance the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research and help spur the type of innovation and private sector engagement long needed to improve women’s health.  

“In order to improve women’s health, we need to pursue and invest in research focused on advancements for women. This is especially true where we know far too little about how to prevent and treat a range of conditions that affect women across their lifespan,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-Harris Administration continues to change how health research is pursued and utilized. The groups being recognized today have picked up that challenge and are doing work that is groundbreaking and lifesaving.”  

The 23 awardees range from small start-ups to global innovators and were selected based on their high-impact and novel approaches to the Sprint’s six topics. Awardees are tackling cancer, ovarian health, gynecological and endometriosis care, obstetrics, menopause, lymphatics, pain management, and neurological and cardiovascular conditions. Solutions to these health challenges include biomarker research, diagnostics, therapeutics, devices, and digital health. 

“Less than 10 months ago we first launched the Sprint for Women’s Health and 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,” said ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn, Ph.D. “We're pursuing not just great science, but a different way of doing business in the government. Integral to the Sprint is to catalyze and transform the market for women's health.”   

Of the 23 awardees, 30% have never received government funding, 39% have fewer than 50 employees, and over 70% are led by women. Awards represent early-stage research (spark*) and later-stage development (launchpad**). If successful, launchpad efforts will move to commercialization in two years after funding, bringing health solutions directly to women in record time.  

ARPA-H saw tremendous interest in the Sprint for Women’s Health, with over 1700 submissions, representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, and 34 countries. Collectively, these applicants represent more than a billion dollars of novel ideas, approaches, solutions, and discoveries in women’s health. The ARPA-H 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.  

Awardees include: 

  • Aalto University School of Science* in Espoo, Finland, aims to develop a home-based labor management device that tracks maternal and fetal health data remotely, helping expectant mothers plan for delivery. 
  • Ancilia Biosciences Inc* in New York, aims to overcome treatment-resistant bacterial vaginosis and enable new therapies for vaginal health. 
  • Aspira Women’s Health Inc** based in Shelton, Conn. aims to create a first-of-a-kind non-invasive endometriosis blood test. 
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.** in Boston aims to develop a non-invasive imaging biomarker to evaluate brain disorders in women. 
  • California Institute of Technology* in Pasadena, Calif., aims to develop a novel, affordable wearable sweat sensing system to measure and map chronic pain. 
  • Celmatix Inc* based in New York, aims to develop a therapeutic to extend healthy ovarian function and lifespan. 
  • Children’s Research Institute** in Washington, D.C., aims to develop an accessible real-time assessment of chronic pain based on a woman’s eyes response to light.​ 
  • Daré Bioscience, Inc.** based in San Diego, Calif., aims to develop a first-of-a-kind early at-home HPV treatment. 
  • Gameto Inc** based in Austin, Texas aims to construct a novel ovarian therapy to prevent disease in menopause.  
  • GE Medical Systems Information Technologies, Inc.* in Niskayuna, N.Y., aims to develop a non-invasive MRI highlighting immune surveillance, brain health, and more. 
  • General Proximity* in San Francisco aims to create a therapeutic to an undruggable target, which may be able to target multiple cancers in women. 
  • Glaucus, Inc.* based in Brooklyn, N.Y., aims to develop a fast and affordable at-home sexually transmitted infections/urinary tract infections test. 
  • Gravidas Diagnostics, Inc* based in Los Angeles, aims to create a first-of-a-kind home-based, low-cost, fingerstick test for early detection of preeclampsia. 
  • Massachusetts General Hospital* in Boston, Mass., aims to develop a non-invasive wearable headband for at-home use to detect precursors of Alzheimer’s disease. 
  • Monash University* in Victoria, Australia, aims to develop portable, non-invasive, less-time dependent, and cost-effective approaches for treating ischemic stroke.   
  • Nura Health Inc* based in Los Angeles, aims to develop a personalized diagnostic and treatment platform for endometriosis. 
  • The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.* in Cambridge, Mass., aims to build a model that assesses medication safety in pregnancy without putting women or babies at risk.​  
  • The University of Iowa** in Iowa City aims to develop an ovarian cancer treatment using personalized nanoparticles and a woman’s own immune system. 
  • The Washington University* in St. Louis aims to develop a blood test that decodes pain and tracks symptoms to create treatments for conditions like endometriosis.​  
  • Tufts University* in Medford, Mass., aims to develop non-invasive wearable sensors to measure biomarkers in interstitial fluid related to pain.​  
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill* aims to treat migraines by targeting the lymphatic system and unique female biology that increases migraine susceptibility.  
  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center* in Nashville, Tenn., aims to develop an at-home medication to mitigate the health risks of preterm labor. 
  • Wyss Institute* in Cambridge, Mass., aims to develop an implantable lymphoid organ as a cancer therapy to treat late-stage and metastasized ovarian cancer.​   

For more information about the awardees, visit the Sprint for Women’s Health page.