ARPA-H Commits $144M to Treat Aging as a Solvable Problem

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is putting up to $144 million into clinical trials aimed at extending healthspan through its PROSPR (Proactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience) program. Seven research teams are funded to demonstrate that early intervention can maintain human health longer — treating aging not as inevitable decline but as a tractable biological process.

The program tackles a fundamental challenge in geroscience: aging is slow, its associated diseases take decades to emerge, and conventional trials are too expensive and too long to run at scale. PROSPR's solution is identifying surrogate biomarkers that can show results within one to three years.

Where the Money Is Going

Cambrian Biotech received up to $30.8 million for human trials of a next-generation rapamycin analog targeting mTORC1 dysregulation, measuring outcomes through "intrinsic capacity" — physical and metabolic resilience markers. Linnaeus secured up to $22 million for a GPER-targeting drug advancing into human trials for healthspan preservation, building on prior oncology research conducted in more than 100 cancer patients.

Five additional teams share the remaining funding, each pursuing distinct biological pathways with clinical-stage compounds.

A New Model for Health Research Funding

ARPA-H operates differently from NIH. Its programs are milestone-driven with defined timelines, and PROSPR exemplifies this approach: fund bold clinical hypotheses, measure results quickly, and move on. A coalition of 77 organizations has requested at least $1.7 billion for ARPA-H in FY2026, a $200 million increase over FY2025.

For researchers in geroscience, longevity medicine, and biomarker development, ARPA-H remains one of the most aggressive federal funders. Current open solicitations include Innovative Solution Openings across health futures, proactive health, and resilient systems. More funding intelligence is available on Granted.