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State leaders want a new federal health research agency to set up shop in North Carolina

State leaders want a new federal health research agency to set up shop in North Carolina. (Photo credit: David on Flickr via Creative Commons)
State leaders want a new federal health research agency to set up shop in North Carolina. (Photo credit: David on Flickr via Creative Commons)

President Biden named the director of a new federal health research agency this week. State leaders want the agency to set up shop in North Carolina.

President Biden says the Advanced Research Project Agencies for Health, or ARPA-H, will have a single focus. "To drive breakthroughs to prevent, detect, and treat diseases — including cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and other diseases — and enable us to live healthier lives."

Doctor Renee Wegrzyn, a biotech executive, was chosen to lead this new agency.

A coalition of more than 30 universities, hospitals, and other organizations say North Carolina's growing biotech industry makes it an ideal location for ARPA-H.

Governor Roy Cooper and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders have also expressed their support.

Congress will decide whether ARPA-H will be a separate agency, or if it will be housed in the National Institutes of Health, which has its headquarters in Maryland.