Dallas will be a federal health innovation hub

Dallas will be one of the three main sites of the newest federal agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

Why it matters: President Biden created the $2.5 billion agency with the aim of making breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases.

• Several regions across the country were lobbying to get an ARPA-H hub.
• Dallas' recent selection as a customer experience hub will create new jobs and allow Fort Worth and other Texas cities to be part of ARPA-H's research.

The big picture: "For years, when you mentioned bio life sciences and health research, people mentioned Boston and Silicon Valley. Now they'll mention Dallas in the same breath. All of a sudden we're in a different category, in a different league," says Tom Luce, who was part of the Texas team lobbying for ARPA-H.

Between the lines: Texas leaders across party lines lobbied for almost two years to get an ARPA-H site. Some were skeptical that the Biden administration would choose a Republican state in an election year, Luce tells Axios.

• But Texas' diversity is hard to ignore because the U.S. is becoming more like the state.
• "They needed to succeed in Texas if ARPA-H was going to succeed because the population reflects the country in terms of our diversity. We're young, we're old, we're a diverse population," Luce says.

What's happening: Dallas' Pegasus Park will house the ARPA-H hub, managed by South Carolina-based Advanced Technology International.

• The agency's administrative operations will be based in the Washington, D.C., region to be near its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Another site in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will house the investor catalyst hub, helping ARPA-H programs deal with red tape and bring innovative ideas to market.

• Private, public, and nonprofit organizations can apply to be the hub's "spokes."

Zoom in: Dallas' two major airports, its central location in the country and its respectable hospital and research institutions add to its desirability for ARPA-H.

• The city's customer experience hub will help ARPA-H develop "accessible, needed and readily adopted" health solutions, with a focus on "equitable health outcomes for all," the agency says.

What they're saying: "Americans can be assured that Texas will continue to pave the way for critical healthcare research and comprehensive support for years to come," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release, calling Dallas-Fort Worth the "ideal location" for ARPA-H.

What's next: Pegasus Park, a 26-acre life science campus, is ready for ARPA-H's launch, and the agency is in the process of identifying its spokes and hub workers, Luce says.