Washington, D.C. – Congressman Colin Allred (D-TX-32) and Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX-26) led an effort urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Javier Becerra to select Pegasus Park in Dallas as one of the hubs for the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The newly created federal agency, modeled after a successful program

at the U.S. Department of Defense, will invest in high-potential and high-impact health care and biomedical research – like life-saving cures, treatments and technologies.  

“We strongly believe that the North Texas region has both the existing medical infrastructure, as well as the diverse and dedicated workforce and patient populations, that ARPA-H will need to meet its mission,” the Members wrote. “To that end, we urge you to consider establishing ARPA-H in North Texas, specifically at the Pegasus Park development, located near Dallas’ already thriving medical district.”

“It is clear to us that our region’s impressive network of health research universities and facilities, our rapidly growing population, exceptional skilled talent, and our region’s strengths in technology, infrastructure, and trade make North Texas the right environment to ensure that ARPA-H can make a real difference in people’s lives around the world and have an immediate impact on finding solutions to some of the most daunting health problems of our time,” the Members continued.

The letter was also signed by North Texas U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30), Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06), Lance Gooden (R-TX-05), Keith Self (R-TX-03) and Marc Veasey (D-TX-33).

To read the full letter below:

Dear Secretary Becerra and Director Wegrzyn:

As members of the North Texas Congressional Delegation, we continue to be engaged on the success and location of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). We write today to invite you to visit the North Texas area to see for yourself the benefits of establishing one of the hubs of ARPA-H in the North Texas region.  

We strongly believe that the North Texas region has both the existing medical infrastructure, as well as the diverse and dedicated workforce and patient populations, that ARPA-H will need to meet its mission. To that end, we urge you to consider establishing an ARPA-H hub in North Texas, specifically at the Pegasus Park development, located near Dallas’ already thriving medical district.  

Opened in 2021, Pegasus Park is a 23-acre, six-building campus with over 750,000 square feet available for a biotech “plus” hub, a nonprofit hub, commercial tenants, and entertainment and restaurant venues. Of that, 37,000 square feet is dedicated to a national biotech “plus” hub and offers laboratory, training, and office areas with state-of-the-art amenities and tenant-driven services.

The Pegasus Park development is already home to a number of North Texas’s best and brightest biotech and health care industry leaders. This includes University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW), which has a 180,000 square foot space across 6 floors in the tower building. Other tenants include Health Wildcatters, Taysha Gene Therapies, Boston-based BioLabs, and Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Institute for Computational Biosciences. The development brings together these groundbreaking institutions and organizations under one roof, enabling and accelerating health research breakthroughs. We believe this to be in line with the goals and missions of ARPA-H, and hope that by placing a hub here, your agency can contribute to and benefit from the ongoing life science and health care discoveries happening in the region.

Additionally, as we have written before, North Texas is already home to many advanced medical research facilities such as the UTSW Medical Center, which is one of the world’s foremost research institutions and houses many nationally and internationally recognized physicians and scientists, including six Nobel Laureates since 1985, 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine.

North Texas institutions like the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and the University of North Texas Health Science Center continue to grow their footprint in providing cutting-edge health care and training a new generation of doctors, scientists, and researchers to staff these state-of-the-art facilities.

For ARPA-H to improve health care outcomes in this country and have a lasting impact, the agency must have a presence in a region with a diverse community and workforce. North Texas is home to one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in the United States and this has allowed our region to thrive and become one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country.

It is clear to us that our region’s impressive network of health research universities and

facilities, our rapidly growing population, exceptional skilled talent, and our region’s strengths in technology, infrastructure, and trade make North Texas the right environment to ensure that ARPA-H can make a real difference in people’s lives around the world and have an immediate impact on finding solutions to some of the most daunting health problems of our time.

We would be honored with the opportunity to host you at the Pegasus Park development so that you may see for yourself all that North Texas has to offer as a home to ARPA-H, and kindly ask that you let us know when you and your leadership team are available for a visit. Thank you for your attention on this important matter, and our local governments, research centers, health systems, and business community are ready to welcome ARPA-H to North Texas. We look forward to your response.