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ARPA-H Awards $110M to Commercial, Academic Teams Tackling Women's Health

NEW YORK – The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced on Wednesday $110 million in awards given to 23 commercial and academic entities as part of its Sprint for Women's Health program.

The program aims to fund innovative work tackling women's health challenges in cancer, ovarian health, gynecological and endometriosis care, obstetrics, menopause, lymphatics, pain management, and neurological and cardiovascular conditions.

Among the awardees are a number of companies and academic research teams working on protein and molecular biomarker and test development.

Austin, Texas-based Aspira Women's Health received $10 million for the development of its EndoMDx test, a multi-marker blood test to aid in the detection of endometriosis. The company will receive milestone-based payments under the award over a two-year period.

Also, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis received $3.4 million to develop a blood test and mobile app to help assess endometriosis pain levels and guide treatment decisions, while Los Angeles-based Gravidas Diagnostics received $3 million for the development of a home test that pregnant women can use for the early detection of preeclampsia.

Brooklyn-based Glaucus received $3 million for the development of a microchip-based testing system called the NanoBioChip capable of at-home testing for up to 50 sexually transmitted infections at a cost of around $25 and with turnaround time of minutes.

Meantime, Los Angeles-based Nura Health received $3 million for the development of a multiomic diagnostic signature for endometriosis along with a digital symptom management system and pharmacogenetic data to provide individualized treatment programs.

ARPA-H said it received more than 1,700 submissions to the program, representing 45 states and 34 countries.

"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,” ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn said in a statement.