ARPA-H Aims to Fight Cancer With CUREIT Project

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) recently announced its first proposal from its Open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). Curing the Uncurable via RNA-Encoded Immunogene Tuning (CUREIT) will fund up to $24 million to Emory University to fight cancer and other diseases with the goal of developing generalizable mRNA platforms to treat diverse diseases.

The White House released a statement applauding the project and noting the tie to the Cancer Moonshot initiative. The Cancer Moonshot initiative was reignited last year by the Biden Administration to end cancer as we know it.

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) was an early supporter of the Cancer Moonshot in early spring 2022, meeting with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer the College as a resource for the nonpartisan effort. The ongoing dialogue with HHS resulted in the secretary of the agency visiting an ACR-accredited mammography site in Nevada to stress the importance of regular breast cancer screening.

CUREIT is the first award from the Open BAA, which seeks transformative ideas for health research breakthroughs or technological advancements. The application period is open until March 2024, and future projects will be funded on a rolling basis.

For more information, contact Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.