Dallas’ Federal Biotech Hub Targets First Mission: Untangling Clinical Trial Pipeline

What if nine in 10 Americans could participate in a clinical trial within a half hour of their home? That’s the first challenge Dallas’ new federal biotechnology hub will tackle, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, known as ARPA-H, announced at the hub’s launch on October 19, 2023.

Texas won the customer experience hub in large part because of its broad and well-connected web of academic institutions, industries and different patient populations, which the initiative plans to tap as it collects insights into how clinical trials must improve to become more accessible. 

While science and technology have made monumental leaps in recent decades, the clinical trial pipeline largely has not, said Dr. Eric Peterson, vice provost and senior associate dean for clinical research at UT Southwestern.